Wen Tzu - Verse 53, Part III

from Verse Fifty-Three

The Way says, "In darkness follow the authority of Nature and share the same energy with Nature; you'll have no thoughts or worries, keep no excessive surplus. You do not welcome what comes or cling to what goes; though people may be of the east, west, south, or north, you stand alone in the middle."

~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~

Yet another passage that emphasizes centering and balance.

To illustrate the prime importance of balance, think about a toy that I'm sure almost every one of us have marveled at and played with at some point in our lives: a spinning top.

The action of a top relies on the gyroscopic effect for its operation. Typically the top will at first wobble until the shape of the tip and its interaction with the surface force it upright. After spinning upright for an extended period, the angular momentum, and therefore the gyroscopic effect will gradually lessen, leading to ever increasing precession, finally causing the top to topple in a frequently violent last thrash.

As long as an adequate amount of energy is applied and gravity helps to keep the tip well centered, the top can spin for eternity. However, if not enough energy is applied, the top will begin to wobble out-of-balance and eventually will stop spinning altogether.

In many ways, each of us is just like a spinning top. As long as we apply the vital energy of the Way to our lives, it helps us to focus on staying centered. In time, however, as our bodies became frail and weak, it becomes harder and harder to maintain that same vital energy. At some point, each being topples over just like a top and goes splat on the floor.

We humans, unfortunately, allow our ego-based desires to divert our attention from the task at hand. We utilize our vital energy in disharmonious ways. We apply just enough energy to keep the top (our lives) from falling over, but it wobbles to and fro violently. We're in constant fear that it will stop spinning at any moment, yet we do nothing to rectify the situation.

All the while, the top loses more and more momentum. We watch this whole scenario play out like a distracted fan on the sidelines!

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