The journey where detours can't happen
Tao Te Tuesday
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Men are born soft and supple;
dead, they are stiff and hard.
Plats are born tender and pliant;
dead, they are brittle and dry.
Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible
is a disciple of death.
Whoever is soft and yielding
is a disciple of life.
The hard and stiff will be broken.
The soft and supple will prevail.
76
Tao Te Ching, a New English Version, copyright ©️ 1988 by Stephen Mitchell, published by HarperCollins. All rights reserved.
You’ve got both hands on the wheel, your seatbelt on, and the rearview mirrors alined. You know where you want to go; and you know how to get there. Nothing will stop you… until… your exit is closed for repairs. Whatever, you know another way to get there. But then… an accident. And then… you get stopped by the police. And then… the car breaks down.
But those are just facts turned into bad news by your mind like vibrations turned into sounds by your ears. The Master would see the closed exit and think “How wonderful that they’re repairing that road, it could have caused me harm”. Then “I’m so grateful that was not me in that accident”. Then “bless the police for letting me know I was driving too fast”, and finally “how great the car broke down, maybe this sunset is ten times more beautiful than my destination”. He’s not just being “optimistic”. He is a disciple of life. And he’s saying yes to it.
Wisdom is being able to say “What a beautiful journey. And if it ends up not taking me anywhere, thats ok” and meaning it.
Poem of the Week (For those who have trouble sleeping)
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.
~ Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks, Essential Rumi
Song Pick of the Week (Official TTT Playlist here)
Thank you for reading!
Until next Tuesday,
Daniel