Think...

Day 13

Preventing a Fall
Honor and shame are the same as fear.
Fortune and disaster
Are the same for all.
What is said of honor and shame is this:
Whether absent or present,
They are inseparable from the fear
That they give rise to.
What is said of fortune and disaster is this:
They can befall any person.
By the accident of good fortune
One may rule the world for a time.
But by virtue of love
One lives forever.

From the Tao Te Ching

Day 14

Praising the Unfathomable

The Tao is not to be seen.
The Tao is not to be heard.
The Tao is not to be touched.
It is not bright above nor dark beneath.
Infinite in operation, it is without name.
Issuing forth, it enters into itself.
Its appearance is not apparent.
Its form is nonexistent.
This is the unfathomable mystery of the Tao.
It has no beginning.
It has no end.
It cannot be found.
To regulate one’s life by understanding Tao
Is to have found the path.


From the Tao Te Ching

Day 15

Exhibiting Skill
The wise are skillful
In their acquaintance with the profound.
They are watchful
Like one who crosses a swollen river.
They are alert, like one aware of danger.
They are considerate, like one who travels.
The wise are yielding,
Like snow beneath the sun;
Naked, like newly felled timber;
Hollow, like the valley;
Obscure, like muddy water.
May not one take muddy water
And make it clear by keeping it still?

From the Tao Te Ching

Day 16

Going Home

Having emptied yourself of everything,
Remain where you are.
After blossoming for a while,
Everything dies and rots.
Going back to one’s origin is going home;
It is giving oneself over to that which is.
Giving oneself over to that which is, is natural.
That which is natural is divine;
And that which is divine, unfathomable.
Being unfathomable, one is of Tao.
Being of Tao, one endures forever;
Though the body perishes, one suffers not.

From the Tao Te Ching

Day 17

Trust and Love

In the first age of mankind
The people had respect for their superiors.
In the second age
They served and flattered them.
In the third age they feared them.
In the fourth age they despised them.
Where love is lacking, trust does not arise.
How careful we must be in our attitudes!
When we have acted from love
We know we are true.


From the Tao Te Ching

Day 18

Learning

Dispense with your learning
And save yourselves anxiety;
The difference between “certain”
And “perhaps”
Is not much after all.
Can learning help one distinguish
Between good and evil?
Alas! But the learned will never be free
From their folly.
They are filled with ambition,
As the bull is filled with lust.

From the Tao Te Ching

Day 19

Like a Child

I am singular in my trustfulness,
I am devoid of ambition,
I am as innocent as a babe.
I am a waif, a stray, a child without a home.
All others have an excess of things,
And I am as one abandoned.
How foolish and simple I am!
I am bewildered.
Everyone sparkles with intelligence;
I am alone in my obscurity.
I am tossed about like the ocean;
I wander and am never at rest.
Everyone has something to do;
I alone am incapable and without merit.
I alone am estranged from the people,
But I glory at the breast of my mother!

From the Tao Te Ching

Day 20

I Know by Tao

The greatest virtue is in the simple Tao:
Tao the intangible, the inscrutable Tao.
Inscrutable, intangible,
And yet containing form.
Intangible, inscrutable,
And yet containing life.
Profound, obscure, but with essence,
An essence which is in harmony.
From eternity until now
The nature of Tao has remained unchanged.
It is inherent in all things
From their beginnings.
How do I know of the origin of things?
I know by Tao.

From the Tao Te Ching

Day 21

Adaptability

Those who adapt themselves
Will be preserved until the end.
That which bends can be straightened.
That which is empty can be filled.
That which is worn away can be renewed.
The Sage embraces simplicity.
Not being ostentatious, the Sage shines.
Not being egotistic, the Sage is praised.
Not being vain, the Sage is esteemed.
Not being haughty, the Sage is honored.
The Sage does not compete with others,
And therefore has no enemies.

From the Tao Te Ching

Day 22

Harmony

A hurricane will not outlast the morning,
A heavy rain will not outlast the day.
Who has the power to hurry things?
If Heaven and Earth do not hurry them,
What shall a person do?
If one is in accord with Tao in all things,
One is identified with Tao.
Whosoever is identified with Tao,
Tao receives with gladness.
One who is identified with virtue,
The virtuous empower.
And one who is identified with vice,
The licentious gladly serve.
When one is in accord with Tao,
One is met with trust.


From the Tao Te Ching