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In harmony with the Tao,
the sky is clear and spacious,
the earth is solid and full,
all creatures flourish together,
content with the way they are,
endlessly repeating themselves,
endlessly renewed.

When man interferes with the Tao,
the sky becomes filthy,
the earth becomes depleted,
the equilibrium crumbles,
creatures become extinct.

The Master views the parts with compassion,
because he understands the whole.
His constant practice is humility.
He doesn’t glitter like a jewel
but lets himself be shaped by the Tao,
as rugged and common as a stone.

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu trans. by Stephen Mitchell

Can I find something to say, a reflection upon this chapter?

Today is Wednesday, midweek. Retired, my work now is to attend the myriad of duties, repairs, yard maintenance, etc. Never at a loss for ‘what to do with myself’ as the flow of change presents all manner of details needing attention.

My sense of life, my life is responsibility: to adjust what is in my circle of influence, to nudge toward that sweet spot of performance. There is cleaning, a lot of cleaning; installing a towel rack to replace one worn with use, moisture and time; reading in the afternoon to better understand Chinese language, and ways of thinking. I myself am a chore – I must work upon myself, nudging myself into a direction of wider clarity of understanding, toward communicating with precision of mind, and to listen better too. All of that is to say there is a balance-point of productivity, of thriving to the end that the flow of life is unimpeded, the fine pivot of reciprocity.

No need for a mythical fantasy, Disneyesque, Eden’s first day of creation… Can we not be agent-creators of our own personal well-being, thriving together with those within our zone of influence? Right here and right now? I assume there’s no more appealing manner of life.

I attend to what needs to be done, what is at hand, and together we instantiate a better tomorrow!

Not to be ignored, denied, glossed over is the consequence of an inharmonious form of life. The lines I have inset feature Lao Tsu’s description of processes of violence, extraction by extortion, of egos unhinged. Note the terms: filth, depletion, crumbling, and extinction. Evil is a crippled, misshapen possible future. Perhaps you feel strong enough to glance over “the edge” of the abyss? I mean yesterday’s 3 hour, 17 minute Cabinet meeting at the White House. CLICK HERE.