Tao of the Day

A good conversation I had with myself about #47 lead to Jay K selecting the random #41 and Melissa #50.
#41 "Laughing at Tao is Perfectly Reasonable"
Those who live with sincerity, when they hear of Tao, immediately begin to embody it.
Those who live casually, may trust it at times, but aren't quite sure what do with it.
Those who embrace the manifestation completely laugh and scoff at the very idea.
If they didn't laugh and scoff, it wouldn't be Tao.
Therefore, you may have noticed:
Progress doesn't always seem to advance.
Beauty oft times can come off as obscene.
The powerful can tend to seem weak.
True love can appear tough or indifferent.
Wisdom can be mistaken as childish.
Great art can appear unsophisticated.
Tao is hidden in all of these,
Imparting what is needed,
Completing everything.
#47 "Engaging with Manifestation"
You can understand all things touched by Tao
Without leaving your room.
You can see all things touched by Tao
Without opening your eyes.
The more you trust the manifestation
The less you trust yourself.
Thus, the Master never engages manifestation
Without first having engaged herself.
In so doing she achieves everything
Without ever having considered it.
#50 "Awareness of Death"
Every being is entrusted with life for a time
However, it is only a prelude to death.
Some live as optimists, embracing life,
Others live as pessimists, embracing death,
Some even live in preservation,
Passively living, advancing toward death.
The Master lives aware of her appointment with death,
This brings her to knowing Real Life.
She cannot be harmed by rhinoceros or man
Her movements flow from her being.
She cannot be fooled by illusion or hallucination
Her actions flow from her being.
She has freed herself of all separateness
Even the distinction between life and death.

Today was a robust Monday with Sany and #9 Jay K chose #6 and Melissa picked #44, her angel number from the weekend. I went into #73 to fill time until Terilyn came up and we selected #26 for her.
#6 "The Great Feminine"
Everything is born from the feminine,
Even Heaven and Earth.
The Feminine that births is a Mother,
She nourishes and supports without possessing.
Despite your awareness of it
You are using it right now.
#9 "The Danger of Extremes"
Having to prove yourself
Will allow challenges to best you.
Focus your attention on money
And lose sight of what is valuable.
Keep in mind outside influence
And you will be its prisoner.
Do what you do and move on,
It isn't yours anyway.
#26 "Wasted Movement"
Without knowing darkness
Light is mysterious and distracting.
Without knowing stillness
All movement is wasted.
This is why the Master travels
And never leaves home.
No matter how amazing the manifestation
She knows there is nothing that she is not.
Why should anyone seek to be influenced or entertained?
If you let yourself be entertained
You lose touch with your root.
If you let yourself be influenced
You lose touch with who you are.
#44 "The Influence of Excess"
Fame or integrity; which of these do you focus on seeing and obtaining?
Possessions or fulfillment; in which do you spend your time investing?
Success or failure; of which has offered you the most growth?
Under the influence you spend yourself
Accumulating only loss and regret.
Fulfill your needs and be content,
When you know excess is excessive
You'll be open to receiving harmony.
#73 "Nothing Falls Through"
There are men who love feeling, and to feel they kill.
There are men who love feeling, and to do so remain calm.
Who is to say which will experience more turmoil?
There is purpose in walking with death, as there is in walking with life.
The inner workings of Tao can never be understood;
It makes no commands, yet all things come on their own accord;
It never acts; but all things act on its behalf;
It is empty, yet within it lays all things and their Master Plans.
Tao is a net holding all things together, connected.
Its mesh is wide, but it holds so well nothing falls through.

I started out talking about living reasonably in relationships and read #1 then was joined by Melissa who chose #39, Loyce, and her choice #17, and finally Sandy with #72.
#1 "Expressing Tao"
Words are particular,
They cannot express Tao.
To have a name is to be limited to manifestation
That which is nameless is the source of manifestation.
Self-referential, those who name, name themselves.
Want to experience the depth of the mystery? Stop identifying.
Want to experience the shallowness of the manifestation? Differentiate.
Either way no one can tell,
The difference is in your experience.
#17 "Of Masters and Leaders"
In the time of the great Masters there were no leaders.
Then, those whom the people loved, led the way.
After having created the position
The people feared their leaders,
Then they despised them.
Having created leaders, their faith in Tao was diminished.
Having become a leader, his trust in the people was diminished.
When there are great Masters there are no leaders
She works day and night and says nothing about it,
When the work is done the people say
"Amazing! We did it all by ourselves!"
#39 "Unity"
Unity is the standard
When achieved, all things are harmonious.
Heaven achieved it through purity.
Planets achieved it through solidity.
Beings achieve it through purpose (life),
Generation after generation,
Every individual being finds
Their own unity, their own harmony.
If Heaven were to lose its purity
So too its union with the Planets.
If Planets were to lose their solidity
So too their union with Beings.
If beings were to lose their purpose (lives)
Without unity, all would perish and decay.
The Master honors everything in every form,
She knows that there is nothing between the highest and lowest,
Differentiating we lose touch with Unity.
Always adjusting to find Unity
The Master lets herself be lived,
Constantly being renewed and shaped by Tao,
Rugged and full of resolve.
#72 "With Nothing to Teach"
The knowledgeable, having lost their sense of awe, seek to be entertained.
Losing themselves in that process, they turn to more knowledgeable authorities.
Do not make light of what is important to people, and they will respect you.
Therefore, The Master, although she knows herself, she is not arrogant.
She loves herself as she is, but she also loves others as they are.
She has nothing to teach, and the knowledgeable have nothing to learn.

A whole day of talking about going baout your business stared with Sandy and #7 then Melissa joined for #17. I took over a bit to keep things rolling wiht #36 and julie wrapped up this Friday with #53.
#7 "The Wisdom of Not Having Preference"
Tao is infinite
It doesn't grow old or tired.
Because it has no preference for itself
It can always persist.
The Master puts herself last
And always finds herself first.
By being detached from preference
She can give herself to what is
And find fulfillment there.
#17 "Of Masters and Leaders"
In the time of the great Masters there were no leaders.
Then, those whom the people loved, led the way.
After having created the position
The people feared their leaders,
Then they despised them.
Having created leaders, their faith in Tao was diminished.
Having become a leader, his trust in the people was diminished.
When there are great Masters there are no leaders
She works day and night and says nothing about it,
When the work is done the people say
"Amazing! We did it all by ourselves!"
#36 "Going about your Business"
If you want to take a deep breathe
You must first empty your lungs.
If you want to make something weak
Then observe it first as powerful.
If you want something destroyed,
Then see it first glorified.
Identify your rigid desires,
Meet them with flexibility.
The soft overcomes the hard,
The slow overtakes the fast.
Just quietly go about your business,
The results will speak for themselves.
#53 "Tao is Easy"
There is nothing simpler than to walk the way of Tao
The only thing you'd fear is getting sidetracked
And yet many people think there is an easier way.
They pacify themselves with possessions and entertainment
Distracting themselves enough to never see their bankrupt lives.
They continue to acquire and convince others to join them in struggle.
Everyone eating and drinking yet consumed by starvation and thirst.
Excess is a thief, and the victim is the true self.
This is not easy, this is not Tao.

A wonderfully rich show today started with Dayo and #27. Melissa gave us an update on her journey wiht #30. andy has also been on a journey and chose #1 then Jay K joined with #31.
#1 "Expressing Tao"
Words are particular,
They cannot express Tao.
To have a name is to be limited to manifestation
That which is nameless is the source of manifestation.
Self-referential, those who name, name themselves.
Want to experience the depth of the mystery? Stop identifying.
Want to experience the shallowness of the manifestation? Differentiate.
Either way no one can tell,
The difference is in your experience.
#27 "The Mystery of the Process"
Although a good traveler may have plans
They are not rigid, nor is the outcome.
Although a good artist creates,
The creations are arrived at through intuition.
Although a good scientist observes
It is done for the first time every time.
By embodying these strategies
The Master accepts everyone
And makes use of every situation,
Nothing is wasted and
Every moment is imbued with light.
What is the good if not a vision for the bad?
What is the bad if not a lesson for the good?
Accept this completely,
Or you will suffer in all you do.
It is the great secret.
#30 "Tao Does Not Dominate"
Governing, in any capacity, when led by Tao
Doesn't use force to gain power.
Every force applied will suffer equal counterforce.
So violence, however it is intended,
Will always rebound upon itself.
Where armies march briers grow
And in their wake follows hunger and villainy.
Skillful in what she does
The Master achieves her goal and stops;
Neither forcing nor manipulating further.
She knows that dominating
Goes counter to Tao
And whoever opposes Tao
Will certainly die early.
#31 "Of Weapons and Mourning"
Weapons are horrible tools,
The Master avoids weaponizing anything.
Weapons promote fear and separation:
Avoided by those who walk in blessings
Embraced by those who walk in delusion.
If compelled to use them, she uses restraint.
There is no glory in victory if weapons are used,
Her enemy is not evil but human like herself.
How can she see glory in their slaughter?
When the Master is compelled to engage a weapon
She does so gravely, and filled with compassion,
Knowing that this is the first state of her mourning.