Tao of the Day S2_067

Today I had a couple fits and starts but it ended up yielding a great episode with a few deep dives as well as emotional supports. I was joined y Marc and Loyce right off the bat with #13 and then #23. Frankie and I dove well deep into an Isabella Mears translated #43. As I was thinking the day was done Kristen joined me for #7 and Kelly for #44, that unfolded to Julie joining me for the final chapter for the day #9

#7
The Tao is infinite, eternal.
Why is it eternal?
It was never born;
thus it can never die.
Why is it infinite?
It has no desires for itself;
thus it is present for all beings.

The Master stays behind;
that is why she is ahead.
She is detached from all things;
that is why she is one with them.
Because she has let go of herself,
she is perfectly fulfilled.

#9
Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people's approval
and you will be their prisoner.

Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.

#13
Success is as dangerous as failure.
Hope is as hollow as fear.

What does it mean that success is a dangerous as failure?
Whether you go up the ladder or down it,
you position is shaky.
When you stand with your two feet on the ground,
you will always keep your balance.

What does it mean that hope is as hollow as fear?
Hope and fear are both phantoms
that arise from thinking of the self.
When we don't see the self as self,
what do we have to fear?

See the world as your self.
Have faith in the way things are.
Love the world as your self;
then you can care for all things.

#23
When you have nothing to say,
you may as well keep your mouth shut.
The wind and the rain don't last forever.
If nature knows enough to give it a rest sometimes,
so should you.

If you're ready for Tao, you can live with Tao.
If you're ready to succeed, you can live with success.
If you're ready to fail, you can live with failure.

Trust your instincts, and others will trust you.

#43
In the world when we arrive at gentleness we press forward to overcome all hardness.
To possess Inner Life we enter it by our own private doorway.
We do this in order to know in overflowing fulness the possession of activity of Inner Life.
Overflowing fulness of activity of Inner Life
With power to impart it to others without words -
Few men in the world attain to this.

(In the world, when we arrive at gentleness, we can press forward to overcome all hardness.
To possess Inner Life, we must enter it by our own private doorway.
We do this in order to know, completely, that we possess the grace of Inner Life.
Completely filled with the grace of Inner Life
We posses the power to impart it to others without words -
Few men in the world attain to this.)

#44
Fame or integrity: which is more important?
Money or happiness: which is more valuable?
Success of failure: which is more destructive?

If you look to others for fulfillment,
you will never truly be fulfilled.
If your happiness depends on money,
you will never be happy with yourself.

Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.