The Dao of Living Well

  6 min read You've built the life you were supposed to want — and yet, some mornings, you wake up feeling like a stranger wearing your own name. What if the weight you're carrying isn't failure, but memory itself? Drawing on a strange and overlooked story from the Daoist classic Liezi, this post explores why identity can become a trap — and how the ancient art of forgetting might be the most underrated skill of our time. Modern life places enormous weight on achievement and identity. We're encouraged to build a coherent life story: a career trajectory, a personal brand, a narrative of progress and success.  Yet classical Daoist texts often ask whether this constant self-definition actually traps us. We spend our lives trying to 'find' ourselves. But what if the secret to real peace is learning, occasionally, to lose ourselves? A fascinating passage from the  Liezi  illustrates this tension through the strange case of Huazi of Yang-li, in the state of Song.  His...

Disclaimer: This post is for informational and reflective purposes only. It does not constitute medical or psychological advice. If you are experiencing mental health difficulties, please seek support from a qualified professional.     7 min read You talk openly about burnout online. So why does saying “I’m not okay” to someone who matters still feel like a confession? In this post, we explore what the ancient concept of resonance ( ganying ) can teach us about finding genuine connection, breaking isolation, and supporting one another well.   Millennials are often called the “therapy generation”. You post about burnout. You speak openly about anxiety. You normalise conversations about trauma. And yet many of you still whisper when you say, “I’m struggling.” Because even though the language of mental health is more visible than ever,  the stigma has not disappeared — it has simply gone underground.   You might still hear: “In my day we just got on with it.” “You’...

9 min read What if your anxiety isn’t about failing at life, but about insisting that it must unfold in one rigid order? This post explores how Zhuangzi's 2,400-year-old philosophy dismantles the three anxieties quietly running your life. Millennials were raised on a script. Study hard. Get into a good university. Land a respectable job. Climb steadily. Buy a flat. Marry. Have children. Optimise everything. And do it in the correct order. Miss a step—or take it out of sequence—and the anxiety kicks in. Today I want to name three quiet but corrosive millennial pain points: • “Rigid Life Plan” Anxiety • The “Sequence” Trap • Identity Fixation And I want to show how an ancient Daoist text offers a way out. This isn’t vague mysticism. It is cognitive liberation. The Modern Script: Three Ways We Trap Ourselves 1. “Rigid Life Plan” Anxiety Many millennials don’t just have goals—we have architectural blueprints. You were supposed to make manager by 30. You were suppo...