Wen Tzu - Verse 3, Part I

from Verse Three

Those who hold to the Way to guide the people go along with affairs as they occur and act in accord with what people do. They respond to developments in all beings and harmonize with changes in all events.

So the Way is empty and unreified, even and easy, clear and calm, flexible and yielding, unadulterated and pure, plain and simple. These are concrete images of the Way.

~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~

There's a lot that can be said about these two short paragraphs. For starters, look at how the leadership of the nations of the western world are so different than what is described above. Instead of guiding by following the people, we live in a "wag the dog" world. This has led people of almost all political stripes to distrust the institution of government on each level and how it comports itself.

By the same token, few of the people follow the Way either! We spend our days trying to ram square pegs into round holes. Every moment is spent in striving, desiring and wanting. The very idea of allowing our lives to unfold naturally is so foreign that we scoff at the notion as being patently silly.

And, whether we speak of nations or people, we all seem far too concerned about our own kind, be it our species, nation, region, community, neighborhood, family or simply ourselves. We rarely take the time to consider how our thoughts and actions might impact others outside of our chosen sphere and, even when we might entertain the thought, it holds little sway over us.

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