Confucius and Fools

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i spent a few days in the jungle called 'taman negara'. here i was reminded of the confucian adage "only a fool learns from his own mistakes, a wiseman learns from the mistakes of others".

i wonder what the sage would say about someone who refuses to learn?

it was near dusk, i was trekking solo and without a compass, while having told no one that i was headed across the river on a borrowed bamboo raft. all was fine until i was heading back and came to a Y. it was 'marked' by a downed sign. i still hoped that it would lead me to a shorter route home. i was tired of pulling the leeches off of my feet as they are quite strong and worse, gooey. by the way i only have flip flops left for the remainder of my trek.

i figured that if the trail did not work out, i would backtrack and then follow the known path home. however, i was distracted again by the attacking leeches and went further than i planned while also not paying close enough attention to my path. when i finally decided to turn around, i could not find the Y with my return path.

i walked in circles for about 15 minutes before deciding to climb some bamboo (the best choice) to look for the river i knew to be nearby. with 1 bamboo in each hand and 1 between my feet, i climbed about 25 feet (8 meters). still no river.

i searched once again for the return path. this time with success. 30 minutes later i was back on the bamboo raft. shortly thereafter, i was in the shower trying to wash the fine bamboo hairs (like cactus hair) off of my person that are quite IRRITATING!!!!

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