Wen Tzu - Verse 53, Part IV

from Verse Fifty-Three

In this way you avoid losing your honesty even when you are in the midst of dishonest people; you flow along with the world yet do not leave your domain. You do not contrive to be good and do not try to avoid embarrassment.

~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~

This passage brings together the two concepts I've been focusing on in the past several posts: centering and expectations.

It should be noted that there is no one center point shared by all beings. It's not like there is a celestial target with one divine bullseye that everyone should take aim at. Each being has its own nature, so the center point for me may be far different than the center point for you.

Too often, when attempting to live up to the expectations of others or the society as a whole, we find ourselves being pulled away from our own center. However, to appease others (maybe ourselves too), we acquiesce to their dictates, yet soon find that we are completely out of balance. We know that something is out of whack, but we have so accepted their expectations as a given that we can't put our finger on what the problem is.

So, while on the surface, we play the role of the good spouse, the loving child, the understanding sibling, the obedient citizen or the productive worker, stress and tension builds up inside of us. The more we continue in these roles, the more we become estranged from the Way.

The Tao person embodies the Way without taking on any roles. Such a person is genuine in their relations with others without falling prey to expectations. They do what needs to be done or they say what needs to be said simply because the situation or circumstances call for it, not because other people expect it.

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