Hua Hu Ching - Verse 22

Verse Twenty-Two

How can the divine Oneness be seen? In beautiful forms, breathtaking wonders, awe- inspiring miracles? The Tao is not obliged to present itself this way. It is always present and always available. When speech is exhausted and mind dissolved, it presents itself. When clarity and purity are cultivated, it reveals itself. When sincerity is unconditional, it unveils itself. If you are willing to be lived by it, you will see it everywhere, even in the most ordinary things.

~ Translated by Brian Walker ~

Why is it that, from almost the beginning of human society, so many people have looked for supernatural explanations? Why do so many people look for divine signs and spectacular miracles? Why do the vast majority spend their lives searching left and right, high and low, forward and backward for a hint of the glory of creation?

If there is such a thing as miracles, they can be found right under our noses at any time. We don't need to pray to see them nor do we even need to meditate. No, all it takes is to look with your senses.

Everything before us is the essence of life! A butterfly. A tree. A chair. The gleam in the eye of your beloved. Your own reflection in the mirror. Even a dust ball dancing its way across your dining room floor.

We need to quit looking for the mysterious and the hidden. We need to touch that world of things, people, beings and ideas that envelops our existence every single moment.

It is when we embrace the ordinary that we become extraordinary.

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