A ligament connecting the big toe
with the other toes
and an extra finger
may be natural growths but they are extraneous.
Swelling and tumors are growths from the body
but they are unnatural additions.

There are many instances
of benevolence and righteousness
and they are connected to the five organs.

But this is not correct
according to the characteristics
of the Tao.

Zhuangzi by Zhuang Zhou trans. by Hyun Hochmann, Yang Guorong, Webbed Toes

A strange meditation to begin chapter 8.

An extra finger.  One example of many abnormal, unhelpful manifestations of the genetic code “going sideways.” As natural as those may be, they do not serve the thriving of the organism as a whole. Labeling something “natural” is not a straight line to indicate respect and approval.

Chinese medicine recognized five organs: the heart, the liver, the stomach, the lungs, and the kidneys. Zhuang Zhou writes that it is absurd to draw a logical connection between these and kindness or appropriate behavior. A connection is not there, even in the face of what everyone may think. Tradition and convention can be dead wrong, absurd, and merit critique.

Horrendous and cruel acts abound. Look no further than today’s news you will hear of officially sanctioned murder. The actors would gaze eye to eye with you to claim what they did was natural and morally justified.

That it is “natural” is no carte blanche, worthy of endorsement.

I propose a tune, lyric lines and harmony to illuminate our way forward. There’s no avoiding the fact that everything is related to everything. Anyway, I like this song by Patti Smith, Because The Night.