When rulers tax too much
People starve
When rulers interfere too much
People rebel
When rulers demand too much
People give up
One who lives in harmony with life
Enjoys true wealth
I have taken great liberty with the Chinese text in my translation here. However, when I contemplate the Chinese characters, this is the essence of what emerges: We create imbalance in our lives and in our communities through excessive control.
All the Tao Te Ching passages about governing can apply literally to a government, but I find them most helpful in a more personal context. We have created so many layers of control in our lives – the external control of laws and moral codes, and the internal control of self-improvement and self-judgment – that we exhaust ourselves with the constant struggle to always do better and be better. We have lost our connection to the natural energy that permeates all creation.
Nature is inherently balanced and self-correcting. A friend recently observed that when we stand, our bodies are always making micro-adjustments to keep us vertically aligned. We don’t consciously direct our bodies to do this; nor do we calibrate the needed corrections and send instructions to various joints and muscles. Balance is our natural state, and it is naturally maintained. Imagine what would happen if that weren’t the case.
We take this kind of balance for granted. We trust our bodies to take care of certain functions without our interference. Yet we are hesitant to trust nature in general, and our own natures in particular, with respect to how we function as individuals and how we function as a society. Why is that? How have we become so distanced from nature’s harmony and rhythm, that we no longer hear its wisdom and guidance? We no longer sense when we are out of alignment, and if we do become aware, we seek to restore alignment by the very same artificial methods that got us out of alignment in the first place.
We don’t need to change who we are; we just need to be who we are. We need to trust that who we are is exactly who we should be. The strain of trying to be something else is wearing us out and killing us all. So perhaps we can explore this trust and investigate the fear that blocks it. No need to judge them. Just get to know them – the trust and the fear. Let them teach us. Let them show us the way home.
I always find some truths in what you share. On this one, I feel like we are children of a loving Heavenly Father and that we spent eons of time with our Heavenly Parents before coming here. We have a divine nature. Our purpose is to receive a body, have trials, learn and grow for them. Seek for the light of Christ that we all have in us from our birth and then find seek for the spirit to help us be in alignment with our Heavenly Father and Savior. It is important to have balance and to learn and grow in how to maintain that connection with them and seek to find our way back home to them.
ReplyDeleteMany of our thoughts actually show some of these truths.
Blessings and hugs dear friend!
I love the way you find connections, LeAnn. So many people seem able to think of things using only one construct with specific vocabulary. But you can take something and find the parallel in your own faith structure using your own beautiful images and words. Always glad to hear from you.
Delete"We don't need to change who we are; we just need to be who we are."
ReplyDeleteTo me, Galen, this sentence says it all when it comes to happiness and balance in our lives. Wonderful reflection, my friend!
Thanks, Martha. I've been doing a lot of balance exercises lately, and it's interesting to notice what my body teaches me about balance in all areas of my life.
DeleteI notice that when I practice the Tree pose in yoga, some days I am very balanced and find it easy. Other times, I must use the wall to maintain balance. Your thoughtful post resonates with me today, and it helps me to think of being kind to myself when I'm not perfectly balanced. That is my usual state, not being in total balance. Acupuncture helps. :-)
ReplyDeleteI do various balance exercises, and like you, I find that some days I am more balanced than others. Also, I find that some days I am more balanced on one side than the other. You hit on the main thing, DJan, which is to be kind to yourself no matter how balanced you feel at any particular time. Thanks for commenting.
Delete'So perhaps we can explore this trust and investigate the fear that blocks it. No need to judge them. Just get to know them – the trust and the fear. Let them teach us.'
ReplyDeleteI find during meditation that there is an underlying fear present often, its in the subconscious mind and its probably there in most peoples minds, whether they realize it or not. I don't judge it , I concentrate on the power of love and trust the loving intelligence, the presence we call God. Fear during this contemplation on love and trust seems to just fade out like a morning mist. The greatest freedom I have found, so far, is that we are not the thoughts and emotions that rise and fall in our perception. We are more like awareness, perception, or presence observing thoughts ,emotion and the physical world in a biological body.
Interesting writing Galen ...enjoyed the poem The Liminal Space of Possibility
Thanks, Brian. I like your approach. Struggling with fear, or trying to eliminate fear, will just "feed" it with energy. Best not to judge, just observe it and inquire about its nature.
DeleteGlad you liked the poem.