Hair on the Soap

The Spirit of September 12

2008-09-12T22:01:00.000-07:00

Much is said, for good reason, about September 11, 2001. Far too little is said about September 12, 2001. There is as much to learn from 9/12 as there is to learn from 9/11, perhaps more. We seem intent on remembering the lessons of the former, and almost equally intent on forgetting the lessons of the latter.

On the morning of September 12, 2001, we awoke to a different world. That world was not just one that had been shocked by an insane act of terrorism. It was a world that was united against the insanity of terrorism.

The “we” who awoke that morning was not limited to Americans. We were the world, and the world was us. Essentially every person who did not fall within the small circumference of religious or political zealots who we call “terrorists” was, on that morning, united in its revulsion.

On September 11, we gazed in stunned silence upon the destruction formerly known as the Twin Towers. On September 12, we witnessed that silence give birth to a precious unity and an incomparable resolve. The doors and windows that had been blow off those Towers were simultaneously blown open to all who watched them fall.

It was a moment of light breaking through the darkest cloud that had ever passed over America and all that America stood for in the world. It was a light coming from all good and decent people outside America, which was immediately joined by the light from all good and decent people inside America.

We were not Americans, Europeans, Africans, Asians, Islanders or any other national, ethnic or cultural clan; we were not liberal, conservative, moderate, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or any other political persuasion; we were not Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, agnostics, atheists or any other adherent on the religious spectrum; we were not rich, poor, middle class or any other economic classification; we were not black, white, brown or any other racial hue; we were not straight, gay, bi, trans or any other orientation. We were a world united; we were good and decent people everywhere.

We, the world, bonded in our shared goodness and decency on September 12, 2001. We, the world, thought and felt and spoke as one that day. We, the world, were prepared to act as one that day.

But, then, the moment passed; the fires were smothered; the smoke wafted away; the dust settled; the planes began to fly again; the funerals were held. We went back to business as usual with little impact outside the airport security lines. What we had found together in stunned silence and what we shared together for several unique months in history began to dissipate, along with the unusual opportunity that this outrage presented us.

What happened? The new vision of unity gave way to the old illusion of division. From the horrible union represented by the commingled rubble of 220 floors at Ground Zero we once again erected a house divided. The world extended its hand to us and we extended our hand to each other – and then we let go and each of us walked our own way.

We forgot the power of silence and we began to talk, again. For a while the voices spoke words of wisdom and security, but before long the voices began to speak words of fear and insecurity. A frightened and deafening noise became the order of the day and the new pledge of allegiance.

America, the presumptive guardian of peace around the world, almost unilaterally declared war on two nouns – terrorism and tyranny – apparently losing sight of the fact that that war had first been declared not long after humankind organized itself into nations, religions and political powers, and had been fought endlessly for thousands of years in countless places around the world. Absent the millennial reign of a just and merciful God, there is no end to that war. Mankind cannot achieve victory against evil because evil resides in the hearts and minds of fearful people, nestled close to the false righteousness of self-interest.

What do we do? We can start as we started on September 12, 2001, by stopping and observing moments of silence during which we rediscover the ever-present basis for unity with other people throughout our country and around our world. In those moments we can reconnect with the reality that the world presents us with a unifying horror of some kind every day – be it war, terrorism, tyranny, genocide, torture, slavery, assassination, nuclear proliferation, poverty, famine, drought, deadly disease, infant mortality, the violent abuse of women and children, drug trafficking and addiction, abject hunger and homelessness, or the ever-near natural disaster.

Everyday thousands of men, women and children, most of whom are innocent victims, die from these horrors just as the 2998 innocent victims from 90 countries died from the horror in America on 9/11. Each of these horrors is equally deserving of its own war. Which is more deserving of the blood and treasure of our national and personal sacrifice? Which is less deserving?

What do we do? We can realize that we are in every one of these wars together, whether we believe that or not. We can realize that what happens to others and their families happens to us and our families. We can recall the oft-used words of John Donne:

All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated; God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another. As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come, so this bell calls us all….

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.

Meditation XVII from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions

Can you hear the bell toll today?

The Score

2008-07-23T05:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, John McCain said that Barack Obama is willing to lose a war so he can win an election. Outrageous rhetoric like that depicts what is wrong with American politics. To accuse a candidate of such a thing is akin to an accusation of aiding and abetting the enemy, which is treasonous, and that makes it ridiculous in this instance. Being willing to launch an insult like that for political gain reveals a character flaw in Senator McCain that indicates that he is not fit to serve as president, that he does not have the temperament to engage the country and the world in meaningful dialog. That is not the rhetoric of a leader.

Senator McCain has been attempting to cast the debate on the war in Iraq in simple-minded terms that play to the American ego. He speaks about the war almost exclusively in terms of winning and losing – it’s about victory or surrender, he tells us. It’s simple – Americans never lose; Americans always win.

But launching this war was never justified or explained as a war on Iraq that would be won or lost on the streets of Baghdad – we were told repeatedly that it was and is a war on international terrorism.

How does one ever declare victory in such a war? How does one win, or for that matter lose such a war? Who keeps score for such a war? Because the streets of Baghdad are less violent for a few months, we can declare that we’re winning the war on terrorism? That sounds like a young boy on the playground who just needs to yell, “We win!” no matter what the score is. That is not the rhetoric of a leader.

Senator McCain does not declare that we’re winning the war in Afghanistan, which is where the war on terrorism started, which is where the war on the terrorism of 9/11 should have been fought with undivided resolution. As long as Osama bin Laden remains a free man, free to plan and execute the next attack on America or its allies, then no American president can claim victory in this war.

It’s fair to conclude that in this war the score remains as it was on 9/12 – al Qaida, 1 – America, 0.

Tao Te Ching 81

2008-07-17T09:21:00.001-07:00

True words aren’t eloquent; eloquent words aren’t true. Wise men don’t need to prove their point; men who need to prove their point aren’t wise.

The Tao nourishes by not forcing. By not dominating, the Master leads.
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I can’t count the number of times that I have been eloquent, but unwise. I will try not to add to those numbers today.

I can’t count the number of times that I have forced, but not nourished. I have tried not to add to those numbers in these postings on the Tao.

I can’t count the number of times that I have dominated, but not led. I will try not to add to those numbers tomorrow.
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This is the end of my online journey through the Tao Te Ching. I will try to continue my offline journey through its teachings as I go on along the way.

I am grateful for the Tao Te Ching – a New English Version, written by Stephen Mitchell. I encourage anyone who reads these words to read his words. There is far more to be learned in that reading than I have captured here. It’s an “easy read” and it opens a door to a life of peace, contentment and wisdom. It promises true wealth in the form of simplicity, patience and compassion – our greatest treasures.

Tao Te Ching 80

2008-07-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

If a country is governed wisely, its inhabitants will be content….Since they dearly love their homes, they aren’t interested in travel….People take pleasure in being with their families, spend weekends working in their gardens, delight in the doings of the neighborhood. And even though the next country is so close that people can hear its roosters crowing…they are content to die of old age without ever having gone to see it.
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As usual, there is more to this chapter than is quoted here. It should be read in its entirety, but there’s enough here to glean both a gross and a subtle point. The gross point is political – one might conclude that we aren’t governed wisely in America. We seem a little shy of contentment; many of us don’t find the doings of our neighborhood all that delightful; and most of us seem to be in love with the allure of traveling to other countries. I’ll leave it at that.

The subtle point is that this chapter isn’t about our “country” – it’s about our life. If our life is being governed with wisdom, then we are content with our life as it is. We aren’t seeking greater pleasure, enjoyment or fulfillment in the material world around us. We’re content to stay “home”, where we have what we have and it’s enough, no matter what we have. In this contentment, we don’t take flights of fancy to the realms of other, hopefully better relationships; other, hopefully more remunerative places to work; other, hopefully bigger homes and cars; other, hopefully finer clothing and jewelry; other, hopefully more contented lives.

Hope is a place that is defined by fear – the fear that we aren’t enough; that we don’t have enough. Hope is an attachment to something better in the future, just as fear is an attachment to something worse in the past. Hope and fear are opposite sides of the same coin; we can’t have one without the other. Said another way – they are the same thing.

Many of us have taken vows to love, honor and cherish, for better or for worse – a vow that should apply to life, not just to marriage. If we seek contentment, we need to know that we already have it, right here at home.

Tao Te Ching 79

2008-07-15T06:09:00.000-07:00

Failure is an opportunity. If you blame someone else, there is no end to the blame. Therefore the Master fulfills her own obligations and corrects her own mistakes. She does what she needs to do and demands nothing of others.
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Failure is an opportunity to take personal responsibility for our life. The other option, which is wildly popular, is to blame someone else, often anyone else. But once we go down that path there is no destination, only an endless walk over hot coals.

The Taoist Master understands the wisdom of meeting her own needs and tending to her own business without making that business dependent on others fulfilling her demands. In so doing, she removes the possibility of blaming someone else for her failure, which at the same time removes the possibility of someone else causing or contributing to her failure.

Standing on our own two feet, in our own shoes, is harder than it appears.

Tao Te Ching 78

2008-07-14T06:11:00.000-07:00

Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it. The soft overcomes the hard; the gentle overcomes the rigid. Everyone knows this is true, but few can put it into practice.

True words seem paradoxical.
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These words give a concrete example of the related teaching in Chapter 76. A newborn infant can move water aside without the slightest effort. Yet, that same water can drip on concrete and wear the concrete away as if it had no more strength than a newborn infant.

Everyone understands the power of water on the move. Yet, few understand the truth that being yielding and gentle will overcome the hard and inflexible. Most of us believe that power lies in being hard and unyielding, rather than appreciating that power resides in the relentless flow of the soft.

Note, too, that true words only seem to be paradoxical. They are paradoxical only in the mind that sees the world in dualistic terms. In the mind of those who see the world in reality, there is no dualism and thus no paradox.

Tao Te Ching 77 (Teaching 2)

2008-07-13T00:05:00.002-07:00

The Master can keep giving because there is no end to her wealth. She acts without expectation, succeeds without taking credit, and doesn’t think that she is better than anyone else.
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The ability to give is infinite in those whose wealth is infinite. Recall that in the economy of the Tao Te Ching the three great treasures are simplicity, patience and compassion. It’s easy to see how drawing from a bottomless well that contains those living waters can go on forever.

Such wealth is amassed by following the simple, if not easy, guidance to act without expectation, succeed without taking credit and never think that we’re better than another. The effort expended in making expectations, taking credit and comparing ourselves to others drains our treasury.

Tao Te Ching 77 (Teaching 1)

2008-07-12T23:02:00.000-07:00

The Tao is like the bending of a bow. The top is bent downward; the bottom is bent up. It adjusts excess and deficiency so that there is perfect balance. It takes from what is too much and given to what isn’t enough.
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Again, we find a message of flexibility. Who among us does not have excess and deficiency? Who among us doesn’t feel out of balance? The Tao Te Ching invites us to find a perfect balance by adjusting our excesses and deficiencies. I note that it doesn’t suggest that we must rid ourselves of our excesses and deficiencies in order to find balance in the middle way. Instead, it speaks to transferring the energy from that which has too much to that which has too little.

I believe that as we strike such a balance, we will bleed off the energy in each extreme and rid ourselves of our excesses and deficiencies on our own, the way a swinging pendulum finally rests at the center point when the energy in its motion is allowed to dissipate.

Tao Te Ching 76

2008-07-11T08:10:00.000-07:00

Men are born soft and supple; dead, they are stiff and hard. Plants are born tender and pliant; dead, they are brittle and dry. Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life.

The hard and stiff will be broken. The soft and supple will prevail.
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This is one of my favorite chapters in the Tao Te Ching, so I’ve quoted all of it. It’s a thumbnail manual for living, and thus for dying. The truth of these six sentences has been manifest in my life more times than I can count.

Every time in my life that I’ve gotten hard, stiff, brittle or dry I have contributed to the death of something, be it a relationship, a communication, an innovation, or some needed change. Every time that I’ve remained soft, supple, tender and pliant, I have nurtured the life and well being of those essential things.

This chapter reveals one of the secrets of the martial arts, wherein the prevailing combatant is always soft, supple and yielding in a wise way.

I think of those who hold fast to their hardened positions in matter of politics and religion, those who have no flexibility in their views of the world and the affairs of men and women. In time, they will be broken.

I think of those people who have been the paradigms of peace and happiness in my life. Without exception, they have been flexible and able to bend in an adverse wind and then return to their full stature when the storm passes.

Tao Te Ching 75

2008-07-10T07:08:00.000-07:00

When taxes are too high, people go hungry. When the government is too intrusive, people lose their spirit. Act for the people’s benefit. Trust them; leave them alone.
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This may be the ultimate challenge to government. People cannot buy food with money that is sent to the government. People cannot maintain their spirit if government intrudes into the aspects of life where their spirit arises and is nurtured and maintained.

The problem arises when people prove by their actions over a sustained period of time that they are not trustworthy in a way or in an area of life that hurts other people. The government often must intercede in those instances, while trying to avoid being too intrusive. Can government leave people alone if those people won’t leave other people alone? If one group of people presumes to act as a governing influence on another group of people, can government sit idly by and watch an abuse that is due to an oppressive imbalance of power?

Government must seek a delicate balance that is not easily struck – a balance between trusting people and helping people, between leaving them along and lifting them up.

Tao Te Ching 74

2008-07-09T06:38:00.001-07:00

If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you aren’t afraid of dying, there is nothing you can’t achieve.

Trying to control the future is like trying to take the master carpenter’s place. When you handle the master carpenter’s tools, chances are that you’ll cut yourself.
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All accumulation ends in dispersion; all meetings end in separation; all birth ends in death. All things are impermanent and subject to change at every moment. All attempts to grasp and hold on to something – anything – will be in vain, because that thing – all things – will change and become something different in due course. Attachments are futile, so it is wisdom not to try.

Christians will appreciate the reference to the master carpenter, even if some of them don’t appreciate the danger in trying to use his tools. His greatest tool was his word. Presuming to speak the word of the master carpenter, in his name or on his behalf, is a very risky undertaking, lest those words be spoken in vain. The cut inflicted by the negligent use of that tool can be severe.

Tao Te Ching 73

2008-07-08T06:17:00.000-07:00

The Tao is always at ease. It overcomes without competing, answers without speaking a word, arrives without being summoned, accomplishes without a plan.
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As I read this I thought about people I’ve known who always seem to be at ease. With a little reflection, I’m struck by the observation that these people didn’t compete; could speak without saying anything; were always present and available; and seemed to move through life without the burden of plans – in other words, at ease.

When I was in the military there was only one command that released tension and that was the command to stand “at ease”.

Tao Te Ching 72

2008-07-07T06:01:00.001-07:00

When they lose their sense of awe, people turn to religion. When they no longer trust themselves, they begin to depend on authority.
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What produced awe in humankind before the first religion was organized? What caused humankind to lose touch with our original sense of awe? Why did we see the alternative in various forms of religion? What have we surrendered by turning to religions for a sense of awe?

What produced trust in humankind before the first government was organized? What caused humankind to lose touch with the original sense of trust? Why did we see the alternative in various forms of government? What have we surrendered by turning to governments for a sense of trust?

There is a famous Zen koan that asks, “What was your original face before your parents were born?” When we answer the koan, we will find the answer to the source of awe and trust, because that source will be reflected in our original face.

Tao Te Ching 71

2008-07-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

Not-knowing is true knowledge. Presuming to know is a disease. The Master is her own physician. She has healed herself of all knowing. Thus she is truly whole.
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The door to learning is the realization that there is something to learn; that we need to learn. The door to learning everything is the realization that we have everything to learn.

The status of world affairs provides ample evidence of the sickness that arises from people in positions of power “presuming to know” what is best or right or moral. These people have taken their personal views and opinions and dressed them up as knowledge, like a fantasizing child playing grownup.

The suggestion that we can be truly whole only if we heal ourselves of all our knowing is compelling because it suggests that our knowledge is the source of our overwhelming compulsion to see the world in fragments. Our knowledge, so called, causes us to see everyone as separate from ourselves; it’s the basis of you and I; us and them; right and wrong; good and bad; and the myriad other fragmented (dualistic) views that reside in our heads and hearts.

Wholeness – health, well being and peace – will be found only when we heal the things that divide us. The Old Testament prophets teach us “How good and how pleasant it is for people to dwell together in unity.”

May we be healed of our disease so that we may be whole and dwell together in unity.

Tao Te Ching 70

2008-07-05T11:09:00.001-07:00

My teachings are easy to understand … yet your intellect will never grasp them. My teachings are older than the world. How can you grasp them?

If you want to know me, look inside your heart.
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Why are we told to look inside our heart? Because that is the one place in us that is “older than the world”. It is a place outside and beyond the intellect. The intellect is the place of thoughts, concepts, judgments; the place where labels are applied and prejudices and assumptions are born.

At the heart of each of us is an essence that is perfect, peaceful and in harmony with everything else that shares that essence, which is everything else. At that place we connect with the way of life as it is, which is the way of life as it always has been and always will be.

Here, at the center, we can grasp the teachings that life offers us. Here, at the center, we put our feet on the only path that leads us to reality. All other paths lead us to a place of our own creation; a place where we grasp nothing other than our own thoughts, concepts, judgments, prejudices and assumptions; a place that is usually anything but perfect, peaceful and harmonious.

A Bold Declaration of Hope and Courage

2008-07-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government.”

May the independence declared in this paragraph resound forever in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

May God bless America and those in the uniformed services who defend her with honor and courage in their commitment to duty.

Tao Te Ching 69

2008-07-03T13:19:00.000-07:00

There is no great misfortune than underestimating your enemy. Underestimating your enemy means thinking that he is evil. Thus you destroy your three treasures and become an enemy yourself.
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Underestimating an enemy will make us ineffective in fighting that enemy. If we do not understand his motivation and intention and his view of what threatens him, then we do not understand how to proceed. That’s not to say that we must agree with his motivation, intention or views. But we must understand them so that we avoid underestimating him and his strength, direction and objectives.

We cannot determine that an enemy is evil without first determining that we are righteous. We must understand that our self righteousness is seen as evil by our enemy and thus we become his enemy and he underestimates us in one fell swoop.

In this dance of evil enemies we are both made poor through the loss of our three treasures – simplicity, patience and compassion. Death and destruction result, and the seeds of the next encounter with evil are planted.

Tao Te Ching 68

2008-07-02T06:00:00.001-07:00

The best athlete wants his opponent at this best. The best general enters the mind of his enemy. The best businessman serves the communal good. The best leader follows the will of the people.

All of them embody the virtue of non-competition. Not that they don’t love to compete, but they do it in the spirit of play. In this they are like children.
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Each recitation of the “best” reflects attention being actively given to someone else – an opponent; an enemy; the community; the people. The “best” among us know that they have something to learn or to receive from others in order for them to achieve what they seek. In this realization, there is no competition. In this realization there is respect and humility. In this realization, there is awareness that nothing is accomplished without the presence of others, be it an opponent or an enemy being fought, or a community or a body politic being served.

Children who know how to play well with others are much happier than those who see others as someone to defeat. Our schoolyard recess made that clear.

Tao Te Ching 67 (Teaching 2)

2008-07-01T07:25:00.000-07:00

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.

Simple in actions and in thoughts, you return to the source of being. Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way thing are. Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world.
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As I reread this teaching, I wondered which problems and challenges that I’ve encountered in my life would not have been overcome by greater simplicity, patience or compassion. Are there any?

I thought about problems and challenges in marriage, parenting, education, and the workplace – what differences would have come from living my life out of an abundance of these treasures? I thought about the problems and challenges that have unfolded in the solitary realms of my mind and heart – what would have come from a more simple view and from being more patient and compassionate with myself?

I might have been a better person by being closer to the source of being. I might have been more aligned with the light, energy and way of life. I might have found more peace and reconciliation with the people in my life. I might have been “wealthy” beyond measure because I possessed these great treasures.

Then I wonder: how will I live today and tomorrow?

Tao Te Ching 67 (Teaching 1)

2008-06-30T07:39:00.000-07:00

Some say that my teaching is nonsense. Others call it lofty but impractical. But to those who have looked inside themselves, the nonsense makes perfect sense. And to those who put it into practice, this loftiness has roots that go deep.
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If you think the teaching in the Tao Te Ching is impractical, then suspend judgment for a while and try it; put it into practice and see if its practicality becomes apparent. If you think it’s nonsense, then look inside your mind and heart and listen for the still, small voice that may whisper the sense of it.

One thing that keeps us from living real and authentic lives is our use of filters in the form of judgments and opinions about life and the views of others. These filters prevent the new and the different from making any contact with us other than in a superficial and momentary way. We dismiss the lofty, the impractical, the so-called nonsense, lest we have to deal with the possibility that they are anything but lofty, impractical or nonsense. We don’t want anything to disrupt our accepted view of the world around us and the lives we lead.

Generally speaking, if tens of millions of people find something of value in a teaching, we should employ enough curiosity to inquire about it. If that number swells to hundreds of millions, inquiry should become a deeper investigation. Exceptions to any such generalization are appropriate, of course – but with some critical thinking involved, rather than merely dismissing the teachings as a matter of course.

I invite you to inquire into the impractical nonsense in the Tao Te Ching. Just for fun if nothing else.

Tao Te Ching 66

2008-06-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

All streams flow to the sea because it is lower than they are. Humility gives it its power.

The Master is above the people, and no one feels oppressed. She goes ahead of the people, and no one feel manipulated. Because she competes with no one, no one can compete with her.
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Humility is evident when people put themselves in a position to receive. That is a position of power, as evidenced by the massive power of the sea when compared to any river or stream that flows into it.

When a Master is humble then the people under her domain do not feel oppressed or manipulated. Oppression and manipulation are used by so-called leaders who are striving to attain greater power through arrogant or self-serving means. In the end, the inherent weakness in such leaders will be revealed and the people will look elsewhere for leadership at the first opportunity.

The last sentence quoted above is one of those paradoxical gems in the Tao Te Ching. The Master doesn’t see herself as a competitor and thus doesn’t present a competitive profile. Who can compete with something that isn’t there?

Tao Te Ching 65

2008-06-28T22:38:00.000-07:00

When they think they know the answers, people are difficult to guide. When they know that they don’t know, people can find their own way.

The simplest pattern is the clearest.
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Every so-called “leader” or “teacher” has discovered this truth. Trying to lead or teach people who already know the answers is frustrating and unfulfilling – for the leader and the led; for the teacher and the student. But, when people finally realize the extent of what they don’t know, then they search for knowledge and find wisdom mostly on their own. Leaders and teachers should open the door to not-knowing.

The principle of Occam’s razor says: all other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best; if given a choice, choose the simplest path, the simplest answer; in explaining any phenomenon, make the fewest assumptions possible. Following this principle brings only one thing: clarity. Some might say that that is the only thing that matters.

Tao Te Ching 64 (Teaching 2)

2008-06-27T06:37:00.000-07:00

The Master takes action by letting things take their course. He remains as calm at the end as the beginning. He has nothing, thus has nothing to lose. What he desires is non-desire; what he learns is to unlearn. He simply reminds people of who they have always been. He cares about nothing but the Tao. Thus he can care for all things.
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Letting go; letting be; remaining calm at all times. The level of peace in our lives may turn on how often we can say to ourselves, “Let it go” or “Let it be.” In that mindset we are far less reactive and resistant to the vicissitudes of life. We retain energy that is otherwise wasted.

Janis Joplin sang, “Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.” We profess to be free, when we aren’t. We profess to be seeking freedom, when we aren’t. If our focus in on things, rather than on no-things, then we’re not free.

Peace is found in no longer desiring for life to be other than it is at the moment. Thus, we should desire nothing other than the absence of desire.

Those of us who are a little more advanced in years probably smile at the thought of how much of our learning we’ve had to unlearn. It’s been said that the greatest knowledge is the knowledge that we don’t know, and that the more knowledge we attain, the more we realize what we don’t know.

Have we ever done anything greater for a loved one than helping them to see and appreciate who they are and to feel good about that awareness? Probably not.

Tao Te Ching 64 (Teaching 1)

2008-06-26T06:50:00.000-07:00

What is rooted is easy to nourish. What is recent is easy to correct. What is brittle is easy to break. What is small is easy to scatter.

Rushing into action, you fail. Trying to grasp things, you lose them. Forcing a project to completion, you ruin what was almost ripe.
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The deeper we sink our roots into life, the greater our well being. The taproot of well being is awareness of who we are and who we are not; awareness of the here and now; awareness of our deepest intention and motivation.

The sooner we correct a mistake or a problem, so-called, the greater our well being. Allowing wounds to fester only risks infection and scarring.

If we become rigid, set in our ways, we can be easily snapped. Remaining flexible in the elements around us, whatever they may be, the greater our well being.

If our thoughts remain small, meaning they are centered only on ourselves and on the minute circumstances that irritate us, the easier our energy is depleted. Being “scatterbrained” is never a compliment. The greater we maintain our integrity and wholeness, the greater our well being.

Tao Te Ching 63

2008-06-25T06:30:00.000-07:00

The Master never reaches for the great; thus she achieves greatness. When she runs into difficulty, she stops and gives herself to it. She doesn’t cling to her own comfort; thus problems are no problem for her.
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Greatness is an inner quality to be realized by understanding our true nature and by becoming aware of reality. Greatness is not something external to be reached for and grasped. When we stop seeking greatness outside ourselves we will find the way to discover it already residing inside.

Discomfort comes in not being able to accept life as it is. Someone who accepts life does not see problems – s/he sees life as it is and by doing so s/he transforms and transcends difficulty.