Learning

Reading the Analects is an extremely hard task. The text has no logical order I can find, and the small "verses" or paragraphs are very dense and hard to understand. Sometimes I can't keep track of what I'm reading, and other times I have to reread a passage over and over again, to even understand what the words mean. However, I have been able to understand some small parts of what I started to read. From these little parts, I realize Confucius had some very good teachings, and they also have a very meaningful message. One of the passages I liked was:
"When you see someone who's worthy, concentrate upon becoming their equal; when you see someone who is unworthy, use this as an opportunity to look within yourself." (4.17). I interpreted this passage as Confucius' technique to help us become the best we can be. When we see the example of a "good" person, we can try to follow their example. When we see someone who is not "good", we can make a review of the example we ourselves are giving. This way, we can always strive to be the best we can be (in theory).
At the same time, I found some teachings that were a little exaggerated, and probably unnecessary. For example:
"While your parents are alive, you should not travel far, and when you do travel you must keep to a fixed itinerary." (4.19). Does this mean we need to be beside our parents until they die? Are we supposed to live with them and never be far for too long? I don't think our parents would like to take care of us for the rest of their lives. I do understand that Confucius wants us to respect our elders, but even for him, that's an unnecessary teaching (in my opinion).
I'll keep reading the Analects and maybe with practice, I'll get better at understanding the deep meaning each passage conveys. I really think it's important to be able to do so, because once you get the meaning of them, they become into valuable lessons (that you might or might not be able to apply in life. I don't think anyone could be as "good" and "worthy" as Confucius wants us to be).