Tao of the Day

A day filled with transition (today is the equinox) Meillisa was warned to stay calme wiht #64, Sandy addressed her pace with #9 Jay K dealt with returning and yeilding in #40 and Terilyn chose #60.
#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.
#40 "The Movement of Tao"
Tao is always returning
It is also always yielding.
In the manifestation all things are born into existence,
Yet surrender and are renewed every moment within Tao.
#60 "Combating Evil"
While governing anything, use restraint,
Treat it like cooking a small bit of fish,
Getting it perfect takes less than you think.
Centering all things in Tao,
Evil, with nothing to oppose,
Returns to a state of illusion.
All harm dissipates in the face of those that know their true selves.
#64 "It's so Easy"
It is easy to stop something before it is set into motion.
It is easy to plan something before beginning it.
It is easy to break something before it has grown strong.
It is easy to hide something before it has grown big.
Preventing problems has never been the problem.
Tiny sprouts do this and grow to unimaginable heights,
Every journey has started with the first easy step.
Avoiding the easy is what has created all difficult problems.
Rushing past the easy things will end up costing you,
Grasping onto the destination you lose sight of where you are.
Forcing things to be what you want, when you want,
Will only turn those things against you.
Therefore, the Master monitors her desire for an outcome.
She remains as calm at the beginning as at the end
So she can see what is in front of her.
She embraces the mundane and doesn't prize rarities.
Doing this the Master reminds those around her
Of who they have always been, and they are inspired.
Caring about nothing but Tao she cares for all things.

We had a great day talking Tao today. Jay K kicked it off with #18 and Melissa fokkwed that wiht #58. Sandy has been through a lot and selected #37 and Alicia selected #22.

#18 "Out of Touch with Tao"
When out of touch with Tao
Etiquette is observed.
When etiquette cannot be abided
We find excuses to make it proper.
When excuses gut the family,
Chaos favors the hierarchy.
When all the neighbors are in chaos
Blind loyalty is demanded.

#22 "Looking Away from What You Want"
To become complete
Know that you're partial.
To become straight
Know that you're crooked.
To become full
Know that you're empty.
To be new
Know that you're worn out.
He who wants it all
Must know what all includes.

Thus, the Master stays centered in Tao
And becomes an example for the world.
Because she knows her light is forfeit
People can see it.
Because she has no point to prove
People can trust her words.
Because she has no identity
She becomes a mirror for others.
Because she has nothing to attain
Nothing can be kept from her.

Thus, when it is said
"To become complete know that you're partial."
It is wise to heed and surrender to it.
Only by living in collaboration with Tao
Can one find completion.

#37 "Inspired Action"
Tao never does anything
Yet inspires everything to do.

When beings maintain the action of Tao
They spontaneously transform from within.
When that transformation acquires a name (an identity)
External forces inspire actions from desire.

Actions without identity
Are free from external goals.
Without desire, honoring stillness,
All things are at peace.

#58 "To Oversee, Don't Interfere"
In overseeing anything, don't interfere,
Let everything flourish in its own time.
Interfering, you get met with resistance
Or worse, apathetic adherence.

Misery and misfortune are tied to expectation.
To expect success is to focus on failure,
To expect happiness is to invite misery,
To expect moral adherence is to flirt with tragedy.
There is no escaping it, expecting good yields bad,
This is interfering, it has always been true.

The Master therefore is content to simply be an example
She has no desire to impose, and trusts all she oversees,
She is firm but yielding, she is sharp, yet none are cut by her
She is radiant, but easy on the eyes.

Today Sandy and I talked about her accident from over the weekend and #41, Jay K spoke about #6, and Dayo joined me with #61.
#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.
#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.
#61 "Being Great"
Being great requires the ability to be humble
So as to receive that which is attracted with tranquility.
Attraction is the most primal of expressions
To receive that which is attracted is to know oneself.
All great beings realize when they error, having realized it
They admit it and correct it to the best of their ability.
The greatest beings seek out those who can help identify their faults,
They consider their enemy a part of themselves that requires attention.
To be centered in Tao is to nourish all related things,
To not interfere or meddle in the errors of others.

It was a day where we focused on stillness throughout. I started off wiht #63, Melissa had another shock involving her insurance and we talked about #15. Sandy joined with #1 and Marianne with #28. Jay K wrapped it all up with #66.
#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.
#15 "Ancient Tao"
The Ancient Masters" ability to comprehend the mystery
Was so profound and subtle that they were misunderstood.
One could only describe how they must have appeared.
Careful as someone hearing the ice crack midway through crossing a lake;
Observant as someone surrounded by toxic threats;
Courteous as a guest in awe of her host;
Unpretentious as a felled branch in a wood;
Vacant as someone staring into space;
Dull as a man with nothing to boast about.
Can you be still, adding nothing until the mud settles
And it gives you the opportunity to see clearly?
Can you be still until, on its own accord,
The next action presents itself to you?
The Master has no need for herself.
She doesn't seek or expect attention.
Not needing to appease herself
She has no requests.
#28 "Knowing There's Depth in the Shallow"
Know the world through the masculine
But access your power through the feminine:
In this way, you will be open to receive.
If you can receive then your actions will support,
They will never be forced, and you will be innocent.
Know the world through the light
But connect to it within the dark:
In this way, you will be open to the truth.
If you can see truth, manifestation will not fool you,
It will fall away, and nothing will elude you.
Know the world through the particular
But know there is no particular here:
In this way, you will accept all things.
If you can accept all things, you will be a beacon
That will guide you, and all beings, back to source.
The manifestation was formed from the void.
The Master knows the manifestation
Yet stays focused on the void within it.
That is how she uses all things.
#63 "Problems are no Problem"
Be still and you will act without doing,
Be still and your work will happen regularly.
Be still and your senses will engage the subtle.
Similarly engage a stranger as the multitude.
See the majesty of mountains in a grain of sand.
The Master knows greatness cannot be grasped.
Remaining still, she allows greatness to flow through her.
With no desire to achieve it, her stillness guides her,
Making subtle movements the difficult seems easy.
She knows that all of life is not without its problems
So problems turn out to be no problem at all.
#66 "Leading from Behind"
There are great benefits to humility
All rivers flow to the sea
Because its position is lower.
The Master emulates this by always being a servant,
Inspiring from below, leading from behind,
No one is oppressed, they find their own way.
Like rivers so too will the people flow to the Master,
Never feeling oppressed or as if they are in danger,
The whole world supports her and keeps her in their hearts.
Without a reason or a desire to compete
She is never met with competition.

First day of school and we are welcoming back all the teachers. Melissa kicked it off with #59, and Sandy gratfully come up and chose #44. Jay K is traveling again and got a random number #61. Finally Julie joined me in a little footy banter nad we talked about #73.
#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
#59 "Serving Others"
While serving others, be as reserved as you can be.
Be like Tao, nurture all things without influencing them.
This is possible through moderation
Free yourself from the constraints of your own ideas.
Respect all things as they are and remove their limits.
Embrace this virtue and your limits are removed as well.
Find within yourself both solid ground and yielding sky.
Be at one with Tao and the landscape creates itself.
Limitless you achieve immortality.
#61 "Being Great"
Being great requires the ability to be humble
So as to receive that which is attracted with tranquility.
Attraction is the most primal of expressions
To receive that which is attracted is to know oneself.
All great beings realize when they error, having realized it
They admit it and correct it to the best of their ability.
The greatest beings seek out those who can help identify their faults,
They consider their enemy a part of themselves that requires attention.
To be centered in Tao is to nourish all related things,
To not interfere or meddle in the errors of others
#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.