I started us off today talking abotu #69 when Kathy joined me to talk about bariatric surguries and chose #26. David then came up to talk about #43 and Melissa for #41.
#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.
#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.
#43"Be Silent and Learn"
The flexible will outlast the ridged.
The gentle will outlast the hard.
Tao, which has no structure, has penetrated all
Even that which has no space to enter.
Through this I see that unforced action, and silence are the only path to completeness.
Action, free of expectation and desire,
This is the lesson of the nature of things.
Listen to your nature, be silent and learn.
#69 "An Invitation to Conflict"
In conflict the Master will never host aggression.
She would much prefer to be the guest
And relinquish space, rather than claim it.
This allows the host space to exhaust themselves
Without the Master having to weaponize anything.
Wanting to control through aggression is foolish
This underestimates conflict and its results.
When you choose to conflict with another
You look down on them and lose the 3 lessons. (Verse 67)
By creating an enemy, you become an enemy.
When two forces oppose each other
The one who relinquishes prevails.
En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.