Laozi's image of wholeness before social fragmentation, protecting your sense of self from constant comparison.
The uncarved block, or pu, represents your original wholeness before society carves you into a role, status, or identity. Taoist teaching suggests we begin whole and become fragmented through excessive comparison, ambition, and social pressure. Digital culture is the ultimate carving tool: endless comparison, curated identities, and algorithmically-amplified status hierarchies fragment you into pieces. FOMO and digital anxiety feed on this fragmentation—you're never enough, always measuring yourself against others' curated versions. The practice of pu is internal: remember the uncarved block within you, the wholeness that existed before you knew social media. Your worth is not a function of likes, followers, or how many trends you caught. By periodically stepping back and recovering that sense of original wholeness, you inoculate yourself against the fragmenting effects of comparison-driven platforms.
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