On Poverty, Dead Ends, and Inner Confinement

People often talk about the poor, but being short of money, being at a dead end, and being inwardly confined mean three different things.
Material poverty coupled with inner confinement, material poverty coupled with a dead end, and a dead end coupled with inner confinement are different states.
Material poverty means having no money.
Being at a dead end corresponds to an external “blockage”: reaching the end of the road, with nowhere to go.
Inner confinement corresponds to an internal “blockage”: karmic obstructions.
So people with inner clarity may be poor and at a dead end, but they are not inwardly confined. A person of integrity remains steadfast in adversity and grows firmer under hardship. Zhuangzi, Liezi, Su Shi, Marx, and others were all like this.
Earlier article: “Zhuangzi: On the Person of Integrity Remaining Steadfast in Adversity”
I. When You Reach a Dead End, Change; Through Change, a Way Opens
A dead end is a false concept; it cannot last. It is only the feeling, in the moment, that there is nowhere to go. In the end, people find a way through.
Beyond the dark willows, bright blossoms appear; when the boat reaches the bridge, a way through opens. Looking back at 35, this is easy to understand. Although a turning point does not necessarily bring good fortune, and often means jumping from a pit of shit into a pit of piss, you move forward all the same.
Simply put, university graduates who cannot find work, and middle-aged people who struggle to find work after losing their jobs, eventually stumble into some kind of work they can get on with, even if they are dissatisfied. Often, the blockage lies in nonacceptance. Tranquility and nonaction often mean simply accepting.
People aged 20–35 are often inwardly confined because they have reached an external dead end. When their studies or careers do not go well, and their narcissism and libido are frustrated, internal friction and self-attack increase. They regret the past, and the karmic obstructions of the ego deepen. Then their inner confinement leads them into further external dead ends.
This is why Daoist philosophy speaks of following and accepting the natural course, practicing nonaction, and allowing one’s own nature to remain clear and tranquil. This way, we do not seek out troubles for ourselves and deepen our dead ends and inner confinement.
II. Inner Confinement and Self-Imposed Limits
The roots of inner confinement are still internal: setting limits on ourselves, drawing a circle around ourselves and making it a prison.
People over 35 often reach external dead ends because of inner confinement, trapped by limited understanding and karmic obstructions. Their lives cannot move forward; they get stuck, stagnate, and decline.
People over 35 often become alienated and rigid, moving away from truth, goodness, beauty, and the deeper mind, and often fall under the sway of inner demons. “Demons and Monsters in Everyday Life”; “How People Turn Bad: Many Middle-Aged People Have Already Died Once”
With financial difficulties, too, we follow circumstances and let things take their natural course. “Zhuangzi: Letting Things Take Their Natural Course”; “On Balancing Work and Rest”
III. This Is Why Marx-Zhuangzi Psychology Matters
“An Overview of My Marx + Psychology + Zhuangzi Framework”
IV. What Am I Doing When I Create Independent Media Content and Offer Consultations?
The inner and the outer, movement and stillness, external dead ends and inner confinement, engagement with the world and withdrawal from it; strategically lying flat, tactically making a living.
First comes inner awareness. Affirmation, assistance, awareness, direction. All of this is assistance, and it depends on the circumstances and the power of one’s own tranquility, rather than forceful preaching. So I do not use force, only stillness, truth, goodness, and beauty.
Second comes understanding. Reading, working for a living, lying flat, IT, finance, investing, the social sciences, Marx and Engels, and the other areas within my circle of competence.
That is, movement/stillness: how to move, how to be still. These correspond respectively to external dead ends (the outer world, engagement with the world, one’s circle of competence) and inner confinement (the inner world, withdrawal from the world, having no ability and practicing nonaction).
A typical situation:
The other person’s current circumstances, and the several directions they are considering. Each direction involves both external, objective conditions and inner issues to work through. I affirm what they are doing right and support their confidence; point out self-negation and fixation, and offer reassurance; help them become aware of their own inner issues and the direction of growth those issues call for (the inner), and make sound choices and plans (the outer).
Throughout the process, I benefit others through stillness and equality.