I have a tiny little book I carry everywhere with me. It's always in my purse, or by my bed, or in my back pocket, or on our kitchen table. It's beat up, underlined, highlighted, and dog-eared. It's called Tao te Ching, and I think of it as my guidelines for life. In the forward of my copy of the book, it says, "Lao-tzu's central figure is a man or woman [referred to as 'the Master'] whose life is in perfect harmony with the way things are. This is not an idea, it's a reality... In giving up all concepts, judgements, and desires, her mind has grown naturally compassionate. She finds deep in her own experience, the central truths of the art of living.". It's less like the bible, which has a lot of stories of how other people lived, and more like a philosophy book. It's 'Truths of the art of living' in plain, simple, form.
Written sometime between 4th-6th century BC, it's a classic Chinese text written by Lao-tzu (my version is translated by Stephen Mitchell) and whose title roughly translates to "The Book of the Way". No one knows much about the author (he may or may not have lived 996 years, over 13 incarnations) but to me, the majority of that information is irrelevant, and can be found on Google.
The reason I'm blogging about my dear, sweet Tao te Ching, is because when I'm upset, or sad, or anxious or afraid or bummed or judgmental, or at all imbalanced, I can open it to literally any page, and find solace. My all time favorite verse (or quote, if you prefer) that I come back to time, and time and time again, is:
"Things arise, and she lets them come, Things disappear, and she lets them go.".
It is so incredibly simple, but there are some days I have to read it 500 times, over and over and over before I can put it into practice. That's why I carry it with me everywhere. I breathe in the words, I breathe out my suffering. I breathe in the way, I breathe out my trials. I'm in no way 'enlightened', but after reading even the smallest portion of this book at any given time I feel like I can somehow just exist in the best possible Tobi way. It's like that part on 'I Heart Huckabees' when they hit each other in the face with a rubber ball. After you've been smacked like that, there's no room to judge, or even think. Right then, you just are. (they call it 'Pure Being'. Watch it if you haven't. Then watch it again. Then let's talk about existentialism, because that's my favorite stuff).
There is so much knowledge contained in the tiny 81 pages of this book, I honestly wish I could buy a copy for everyone in the whole entire world. Another fantastic quote is:
"The Master doesn't seek fulfillment. Not seeking, not expecting, she is present and can welcome all things".
It just kind of fits in with my whole philosophy of not planning, but letting the universe unfold in front of you. Breathe in, let it come. Breathe out, let it go. The universe is chaotic, and we are silly to think we can control it.
If you really don't feel like getting a copy of Tao te Ching, you can always just Google Lao-tzu quotes. There are tons of them (whether they actually came from him or not is up for debate, but I digress...) and every single one will make you want to live more fully with every breath. I leave you with this:
(or as my friend Tonni says, "If you have one foot in the past and one in the future, you're [squatting] on the present." She's an old, wise soul)
I love you, friends. Be well!
Written sometime between 4th-6th century BC, it's a classic Chinese text written by Lao-tzu (my version is translated by Stephen Mitchell) and whose title roughly translates to "The Book of the Way". No one knows much about the author (he may or may not have lived 996 years, over 13 incarnations) but to me, the majority of that information is irrelevant, and can be found on Google.
The reason I'm blogging about my dear, sweet Tao te Ching, is because when I'm upset, or sad, or anxious or afraid or bummed or judgmental, or at all imbalanced, I can open it to literally any page, and find solace. My all time favorite verse (or quote, if you prefer) that I come back to time, and time and time again, is:
"Things arise, and she lets them come, Things disappear, and she lets them go.".
It is so incredibly simple, but there are some days I have to read it 500 times, over and over and over before I can put it into practice. That's why I carry it with me everywhere. I breathe in the words, I breathe out my suffering. I breathe in the way, I breathe out my trials. I'm in no way 'enlightened', but after reading even the smallest portion of this book at any given time I feel like I can somehow just exist in the best possible Tobi way. It's like that part on 'I Heart Huckabees' when they hit each other in the face with a rubber ball. After you've been smacked like that, there's no room to judge, or even think. Right then, you just are. (they call it 'Pure Being'. Watch it if you haven't. Then watch it again. Then let's talk about existentialism, because that's my favorite stuff).
There is so much knowledge contained in the tiny 81 pages of this book, I honestly wish I could buy a copy for everyone in the whole entire world. Another fantastic quote is:
"The Master doesn't seek fulfillment. Not seeking, not expecting, she is present and can welcome all things".
It just kind of fits in with my whole philosophy of not planning, but letting the universe unfold in front of you. Breathe in, let it come. Breathe out, let it go. The universe is chaotic, and we are silly to think we can control it.
If you really don't feel like getting a copy of Tao te Ching, you can always just Google Lao-tzu quotes. There are tons of them (whether they actually came from him or not is up for debate, but I digress...) and every single one will make you want to live more fully with every breath. I leave you with this:
I love you, friends. Be well!
I studied the Tao te Ching in humanities in high school and have loved it since. When we are brilliantly rich we can buy the whole world a copy- we'll go in on it together.
ReplyDeleteI am totally down for that plan. The world deserves it :)
ReplyDelete