Full Width [alt+shift+f] Shortcuts [alt+shift+k]
Sign Up [alt+shift+s] Log In [alt+shift+l]
15
Dear friends, there is a tale, The oak one day said to the reed: You have good reason to curse nature — A simple sparrow for you is a heavy burden. The slightest wind that by chance Makes the face of the water ripple Forces you to lower your head. However my own forehead, Not content to stop the rays of the sun, Braves the effort of the storm. Still if you were born under the shelter of the foliage With which I cover my surroundings, You would not have to suffer so much. I would defend you from the storm. But you are most often born On the damp edges of the realms of the wind. Nature towards you seems to me very unjust. — Your compassion, replied the shrub, Part of a good nature; but leaves this worry: The winds are less formidable to me than to you. I bend, and do not break. You have hitherto Against their dreadful blows Resisted without bending your back; But let's stay:
over a year ago

Improve your reading experience

Logged in users get linked directly to articles resulting in a better reading experience. Please login for free, it takes less than 1 minute.

More from The Map is Mostly Water

creatures of temperament

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing:

6 days ago 11 votes
Why make something beautiful?

on starting a rose garden

a month ago 19 votes
Love Grows

The world is covered with a thin film of inertia.

a month ago 21 votes
Resist Summary

painfully quick thoughts about AI

3 months ago 50 votes
School is Not Enough

Learning is a consequence of doing

5 months ago 62 votes

More in life

Sonder, Sobriety, and Abstractions | Friday Footnotes #3

Friday Footnotes is a weekly newsletter where reading and reflection meet real life.

4 hours ago 2 votes
date night in the time of parenting

do you believe in love after kids?

21 hours ago 2 votes
Nine Principles For Success In The Age of AI

An Idiosyncratic Career Guide

2 hours ago 2 votes
Six Things I Had to Give Up to Make 6-Figures Online

#3: Dumb systems build 6-figure online empires

14 hours ago 2 votes
Coaching Toolkit: The Stories We Tell Ourselves

How to reframe the stories that hold you back at work

2 days ago 5 votes