Line by Line - Verse 12, Line 4

The chariot course, and the wild hunting waste Make mad the mind;

~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Racing and hunting madden the mind.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Racing and hunting make one wild in the heart
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

Desire messes with your heart.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

One of the chief complaints of so many people in our modern world is that they seem to spend their days racing from one responsibility to the next. If it's not the job, it's their kids. If it's not the kids, it's their spouse/partner. If it's not the spouse/partner, it's their extended family. If it's not the extended family, it's their friends. If it's not the friends, then it's their church or civic group. Round and round they go in a constant blur of frenetic motion.

When we don't take the time to make room for ourselves, we can't catch our breath. When we don't take the time to allow for some silence and emptiness, we find that our cup runneth over.

Slow down. Take a powder. The machine that runs constantly is more apt to break down.

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