14th Verse of the Tao Te Ching

The 14th verse of the Tao Te Ching: “Discovering how things have always been brings me into harmony with the way.”

Everything on this spinning planet is part of the natural world or what we have decided to call-Nature. We live in harmony with nature. We always live with nature. We, the human beings, often forget that we are part of this delicate natural balance just like everything else is. The Tao is asking us to remember this, and remember that nature and the natural way of things has been around a lot longer than we have, and the closer we connect to it – the better our lives are.

The 45-degree tilt of our earth creates the seasons in just the right way to allow the entire planet to strive. The sun comes up; the sun goes down – day and night. These circadian rhythms allow our world and all its inhabitants to live their normal daily lives in perfect balance and harmony. The balance is so great and so accurate, that it has been working for centuries without our help at all.

Go out into nature! Observe what’s going on out there. The birds are given homes, food, and a place to play. They’re given enough of their own kind to live and flourish. There are enough animals around to allow the meat eaters to eat and be happy. When the meat eaters are done, the scavengers arrive to clean up the scraps, the decomposers arrive to put the nutrients back into the ground, seeds fall into what the decomposers have created and create foliage, and the plant eaters that the meat eaters want to eat become full and content on the new plants. The water cycle works in perfect balance as well. All the water that falls or that is condensated eventually makes its way back to the sky and back to the oceans of the world. These cycles and rhythms of nature have been going on perfectly for a great number of centuries. The same waters the dinosaurs drank are the same water that you put in your fish bowls and the same water we use to make our pasta.

The balance is the way things have always been. The more connected you are to this balance, to this rhythm, the more you are part of “the way”. “The way” is a term the Tao Te Ching uses for the way to be at peace and happy with all things!

If your world is going insane and you’re worrying about everything, you are not connected to “the way”. If you are stressed out, you are not following the natural ebbs and flows of the natural world. There will be ups and downs. There is good and bad. Yet, these are the judgements we pass. No matter what, everything is in balance as long as you’re happy. As long as you’re happy you’re on the right path. As soon as you are worried or upset, you are identifying with the human form, the human world. Remember, the human world hasn’t done that many great things for this planet that has lived and breathed on its own for many many centuries. Somewhere we lost touch with this balance. If you were to talk to a frog and ask if he was worried, he would have no idea what you’re talking about. There is only the happiness of living and the caution of keeping up with the balance. If you’re unhappy, change the things you can and accept the things you can’t.

Things are not happening to you – they are just happening. You’re deciding if they’re good or bad.

Above all – just be happy with the way things are going. If they are going this way, you wanted it to be this way. If you didn’t want it to be this way, you would have changed it. If you haven’t changed your life situation and you are unhappy with it…what are you waiting for?

Everything is not as bad as it seems – I promise!

Look for the 1-13th verse here: http://www.triond.com/rw/163717


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