Tao of the Day S2_069

Today I cover a dozen verses of the Tao, and all of them deeply. Jose kicked us off with #14, and my beautiful old friend Andee joined me for #62, Allison followed with #51. Julie and I covered #14 a second time, and Loyce chose #37. I had the pleasure of covering #7 with Thomas and then Anne-Marie. Mpress, and Energy Lady got to dig in with me with #26, #3 and then #2 MoJoe joined me for #18 and I couldn't turn away neither Marccela, nor Joshua with his wife Rachel for #67 and #11 respectively.

#2
When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad.

Being and non-being create each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.

Therefore the Master
acts without doing anything
and teaches without saying anything.
Things arise and she lets them come;
things disappear and she lets them go.
She has but doesn't possess,
acts but doesn't expect.
When her work is done, she forgets it.
That is why it lasts forever.

#3
If you overesteem great men,
people become powerless.
If you overvalue possessions,
people begin to steal.

The Master leads
by emptying people's minds
and filling their cores,
by weakening their ambition
and toughening their resolve.
He helps people lose everything
they know, everything they desire,
and creates confusion
in those who think that they know.

Practice not-doing,
and everything will fall into place.

#7
Tao never stops.
Why? Because it isn't trying to accomplish anything.

The Masters hang back.
That's why they're ahead of the game.
They don't hang on to things.
That's how they manage to keep them.
They don't worry about what they can't control.
That's why they're always satisfied.

#11
We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.

We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.

We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable.

We work with being,
but non-being is what we use.

#14
You can't see Tao, no matter how hard you look.
You can't hear Tao, no matter how hard you listen.
You can't hold on to Tao, no matter how hard you grab.

But it's there.

It's in you,
and it's all around you.

Remember that.

#18
When the great Tao is forgotten,
goodness and piety appear.
When the body's intelligence declines,
cleverness and knowledge step forth.
When there is no peace in the family,
filial piety begins.
When the country falls into chaos,
patriotism is born.

#26
The heavy is the root of the light.
The unmoved is the source of all movement.

Thus the Master travels all day
without leaving home.
However splendid the views,
she stays serenely in herself.

Why should the lord of the country
flit about like a fool?
If you let yourself be blown to and fro,
you lose touch with your root.
If you let restlessness move you,
you lose touch with who you are.

#37
Tao never does anything
but nothing is left undone.

If our leaders could get in touch with Tao,
the world would take care of itself.
Even if they wanted to make their own changes,
they'd be drawn back to Tao's nameless simplicity.

When our lives are that simple, we want for nothing.
We can relax, and the world becomes a better place.