志异 Draft by Drama box December 2014 (english) | Page 40

Harmony exists
when diverse
groups act in ways
that preserve/
perpetuate or
improve the
eco-system.

would not only avoid conflicts, but also promote strong and close
relationships with one another.
According to Confucius, discord arises because people have
forgotten about ritual actions, or they know about it but fail to
practise it. Conflicts arise because people are unable to show
certain cues or understand the cues of others, and thus are
unable to give way or lead in whatever situations they are in.
Not only do people not get what they want, there is frustration
in their personal interactions with one another as people clash
in their desire to lead at the same time. In addition, the greatest
failure and factor for even greater disharmony is the fact that
human affection is not effectively communicated. Rather than
promoting close human ties in one’s daily interaction, people end
up furthering distrust, frustration, and disappointment.
As I have shown above, the early Chinese thinkers drew their
inspiration for ideas of harmony from the day to day activities in
their lives — cooking and music. While we may not think much
about these activities, these early thinkers have acquired great
insights about managing diversity from the way diverse elements
were able to harmoniously come together and interact in a
fruitful manner.

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