Holding On or Held
Awakened this morning from a nightmare. The dream had to do with life as we know it today, of encounter with the myriad bureaucratic obstructions imposed upon the individual by “the system.” There is no escape. Costs pile up. Red light cameras, late penalties of all kinds, and if you live in Cook County, the dreaded property tax bill. The white envelope seems harmless enough lying in the mail box. The envelope is opened, the document unfolded–and you owe 50% more than you did last year. Initially the shock, then numbness. You were not consulted when promises were made regarding worker pensions so many years ago. And you were not consulted when those promises were under funded over and over. But here you are standing by your kitchen table, on this bright spring morning, and the 
birds are singing. You look at your bill.
The words of Lao Tsu come to mind, especially that last line.
The Tao doesn’t take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn’t take sides;
she welcomes both saints and sinners.The Tao is like a bellows:
it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand.Hold on to the center.
It’s a comfort to know that the Tao is impartial, so there is no reason for self-pity. One can only do what one can do. And that is all. So, I hold on to this, the center. Or maybe better said, I am held.
These photos of wild flowers were taken yesterday in Long Grove. You never know what you will see, just walking around.
