FLAMING WATERDROPS

    In the desert, where silence was heavier than sand and the stars had not yet opened their eyes, a lone traveller stumbled across the endless dunes.    The sun, now a bruised ember on the horizon, had spent the day dragging fire across his skin. His lips were cracked silence. His legs, memory alone. Each step had become a negotiation between breath and collapse. Finally, as twilight dissolved the edge of the world, he fell beside a solitary palm tree — the only whisper of life in an ocean of stillness.    There, beneath the fronds that shivered against the cooling sky, he lay down. His bones felt hollow. His past, distant. His future, unimaginable. All that remained was the weight of exhaustion, like stone tied to spirit.    Night descended slowly, painting everything in a hush of blue and ash.    Then came light.    It wasn't the moon. It wasn’t the stars. It was movement — flame carving through the sky like a br...

   As in life, in the Percomboo world we present possible options, opinions, and universal principles—or the truth. For this reason, we highlight the teachings of two well-known ancient philosophers: Plato and Lao Tzu. Their wisdom both overlaps and diverges. They show us objective realities and subjective viewpoints. That is how the Percomboo world works. As usual, knowing what is opinion and what is truth is not always easy. Percomboo helps us, through the Ancients, to find clarity. PLATO    Plato and Lao Tzu are exemplary Ancients who have had an enormous impact on people across time and cultures. In Percomboo, they are not viewed as gurus to be blindly followed, but rather as representatives of two significant worldviews. They reflect two distinct philosophical traditions—Eastern and Western. Though both lived hundreds of years before Christ, they had different focuses, perspectives, and cultural contexts. Yet, they also have much in common.    Plato ...

  Yin and Yang: The Paralysis of Perfect Balance Yin and yang is the well-known symbol of the world's ever-moving duality. These are universal principles, but more specifically, yin or yang represents attitude — your chosen approach to life. While understanding the whole principle is helpful, trying to represent both sides simultaneously can be devastating. I’ve learned this through years of philosophical experience. Nobody can deny the fundamental truth that everything has two sides. If we pay attention, it’s obvious. That was my starting point 20–30 years ago. When both sides are equal, they are in balance — in harmony — which means they are not moving. Like a scale: as long as one side is heavier, the scale moves. Harmony sounds appealing, but balance is also a form of stillness — in other words, death. Consequently, harmony cannot last long because life is constant movement and change. An individual's desire for peace is often just the hope for a break — the weekend, th...

You can scoop water, but you cannot grip it or crush it. Water makes no effort to be high; it naturally seeks the lowest point. If you try to raise it or strike it, it resists and pushes back. It has no will to serve what is claimed—it simply serves. Water nourishes all things. It waters flowers, sustains living beings, cleanses, softens, and embraces. Water always tries to come to rest, yet it cannot be stopped until it reaches its final destination. If you place something in its path, it finds a way around. It can bring down barriers. It seeps through the smallest cracks. Water clings stubbornly to some things, yet it only serves: washing, carrying, softening, cleansing, and shaping. It can evaporate or freeze when influenced. It is unbreakable and invulnerable. It has no shape of its own, yet it can take any shape. Water is clear and transparent—it conceals nothing. If undisturbed, you can see yourself reflected in it. But if you stir it, your reflection becomes distorted—just as ...