Principles Before Personalities

From the Idiosyncradeck, the Three of Stones; from the Mixed Emotions deck, Frustrated:

To all those whose progress remains hampered by ego-related distractions, let humility serve to remind one to place virtue before vice, values before vanity and principles before personalities.

~Matsumura Sokon

For the Greek Pythagoreans, the number three represented harmony, wisdom and understanding. Three is the only number equal to the sum of the previous numbers (1+2=3). It symbolized a collaboration and cooperation toward a common goal. Frustration, however,  shows what often happens when working with another person or group. Personal proclivities, our tendency to do things regularly in a certain way, can bump into each other when they differ. Yet if we can hold fast to the solution or objective we're trying to reach, we may be able to discuss rather than argue about our strategy.