72

When they lose their sense of awe,
people turn to religion.
When they no longer trust themselves,
they begin to depend upon authority.

Therefore the Master steps back
     so that people won’t be confused.
     He teaches without a teaching,
     so that people will have nothing to learn.

Tao Te Ching by Lao-tsu, trans. by Stephen Mitchell

Today I received an invitation from a friend to a fall lecture series sponsored by his Church. I cannot remember when I was last invited to anything at a church. I felt honored to receive the invitation from him. The featured lecture will be by a MIT professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering, who will address the compatibility of science with Christianity. This topic once held my interest for years. I come from a heritage of traditional Christianity. No matter events, even radical change in viewpoint — one’s beginning point is always close at hand.

These lines from verse 72 feel compelling to me. A sense of awe is natural, a default openness of the psyche and the mind to just how wonderful, and how terrifying this life is. Hold on, and sometimes just to “hang on” the ride is anything but boring. 

Just a few weeks ago Laura and I, along with others in our tour group had dinner at a restaurant on a side street just off the Champs-Élysées in Paris. How did we get there? I never imagined that I’d be dining, intimately experiencing what so many others have enjoyed, not far from the Seine and the Eiffel tower. There we were and words fail.

Therefore by my lights, “worship” or the equivalent “awe” is nothing special, it’s everyday. For that, — church, or a defined “god” is superfluous, over-kill. Why not simply trust oneself to feel, to be addressed by the wonder and by the terror of being alive?

Nothing-to-learn!