Verse 23: Open to Tao

Verse Twenty-Three
Express yourself completely,
then keep quiet.
Be like the forces of nature:
when it blows, there is only wind;
when it rains, there is only rain;
when the clouds pass, the sun shines through.

If you open yourself to the Tao,
you are at one with the Tao
and you can embody it completely.
If you open yourself to insight,
you are at one with insight
and you can use it completely.
If you open yourself to loss,
you are at one with loss
and you can accept it completely.

Open yourself to the Tao,
then trust your natural responses;
and everything will fall into place.
~ Stephen Mitchell translation ~

For many people in the Western world, philosophical Taoism is equated with "nature worship" and I don't mean this in a positive way. Present society -- owing much to the Judeo-Christian belief system -- views nature merely as a commodity for use by humankind. It is something totally separate from humanity. Nature is here solely to be subjugated and dominated by man. Therefore, to people who embrace the current ethos, a reverence for nature is viewed as perverse and, believe it or not, un-natural.

Of course, Taoists don't see it that at all. As Mark Watts writes in the Introduction to his late father's book, What Is Tao?:

Living close to the earth one sees the wisdom of not interfering with the course of life, and letting things go their way. This is the wisdom that also tells us not to get in our own way, and to paddle with the current, split wood along the grain, and to seek to understand the inner workings of our nature instead of trying to change it.

It's not that Taoists value nature more than any other aspect of this thing we call life; it's more that nature is naked and unfettered by the layers of hubris (i.e., emotions, desires, and subjective perceptions) that plague humankind. In nature, we see the laws of the universe play out in a detached and impartial manner. In nature, we can watch the ever-flowing rhythms and cycles of life.

More importantly, the many faces of nature provide Taoists with a treasure trove of metaphors with which to explain and discuss many of the ideas and concepts that go beyond mere words. It is by painting metaphorical pictures that the intellectual part of ourselves can find resonance in those aspects that speak loudest to us through experience and silence.

In the end, our reverence for nature is not about something outside of ourselves for the human race and each of us as individuals is part of nature. And, as Diane Dreher explains it, nature and life is dynamic.

Like a river it constantly flows, its currents forming new patterns from interacting elements. To follow Tao is to flow like a river, to recognize our part in the ever-evolving universe.

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.