No matter what people do, they hope to be in the right time, in the right place, and with the right people.
The so-called "Song of Heaven" means that, as Lao Tzu advocates, everything should be done in accordance with objective laws, and you cannot do everything according to your own will. As the saying goes, go out to see the sky and come in to see the colors. Going out to watch the weather means observing and grasping weather changes, and arranging your actions according to weather trends, otherwise you may get caught in the rain, exposed to the sun, or shivered by the cold wind. Even violating the farming season will cause great losses.
Nowadays, people are accustomed to listening to weather forecasts and planning their actions according to the weather forecasted by the weather station. But in the past, there was not only no television, but also no weather forecast. How do people predict weather changes? It mainly depends on experience. Farmers, in particular, know many agricultural proverbs, and they use them to predict weather changes in the next one or two days or even longer. In fact, agricultural proverbs are a summary of farmers' experiences with weather changes and agricultural activities over thousands of years.
Sometimes, people don’t necessarily rely on farmers’ proverbs to predict the weather, or even just rely on their unique personal experience. There is a man named Zhou Puqing not far from my hometown. His ability to observe the sky has become almost legendary. It was clear that the sun was shining brightly in the sky, but when he said it would rain heavily in the afternoon, everyone thought he was talking nonsense. But in the afternoon, it suddenly started raining heavily. He was the only one who brought an umbrella, and everyone else was soaked in the rain. Sometimes in the morning, dark clouds roll in, and everyone is ready to stop work. Only Zhou Puqing goes out pushing a dirt cart, saying that he is going to collect firewood in the inner mountains. Just when everyone was worried about him, the clouds opened and the sun rose, and everyone felt regretful. The story of Zhou Puqing's observation of the sky spread farther and farther, and gradually someone cracked the secret. People also said in a teasing tone that the reason why Zhou Puqing could see the sky so accurately was entirely because of eating from his rotten cotton-padded jacket. It is said that his cotton-padded jacket has never been washed for decades since he was wearing it when he was serving in the Japanese army. He has sweated countless times and the cotton has been soaked with salt. So as long as his cotton-padded jacket regains moisture, he knows it will definitely rain. And if his cotton-padded jacket is dry, even if it is raining heavily, it means the weather is about to clear up. Although people were teasing when telling Zhou Puqing's story, everyone admitted in their hearts that it actually made sense.
Learning to observe the colors of the sky is a necessary skill when it comes to following the sky, but winning people and people requires the second half of the sentence: enter the door and observe the colors. The so-called "viewing the color when you enter the door" actually means observing the complexion when you enter the door. That is to say, you should judge the host's attitude by observing his words and expressions to see if the host sincerely welcomes the guest, and use this to determine whether you can sit for a long time or whether you should quickly find an excuse to leave. China is a country of etiquette. People all know that we should treat others with courtesy. There is a famous saying in the Analects of Confucius: "Isn't it a pleasure to have friends come from afar?" Not only is it catchy, but almost everyone knows it. Therefore, as long as a guest comes in, the host will be very enthusiastic. However, it is inevitable to encounter the embarrassment that the host happens to be busy and is unable to receive guests. At this time, although the host is still very enthusiastic on the surface, in fact, he may not be so in his heart. A neighbor in my hometown once left a joke, saying that he repeatedly said to the guests who stood up to say goodbye, "Don't leave, don't leave, the umbrella is in the corner of the door." I have not verified the authenticity of this joke. Anyway, it is common for guests to retain guests with enthusiasm on the surface but actually hope to leave as soon as possible. If we can't judge the owner's true thoughts by observing words and expressions, it will make people feel very annoying. In fact, by extension, the same is true in other situations. For example, when chatting, we should observe whether others are interested in the topic we are talking about. If others are listening with interest, we might as well say a few more words. And if we find that other people seem to be not interested in our topic, then we should stop it quickly or change the topic. In fact, giving a report on the podium and giving a lecture on the podium are all the same.
Therefore, going out to see the sky and entering the door to see the colors are the basic skills of being a human being. However, it is not easy to do well.