I look dejected and forlorn, as if I had no home to go to.In our society, objectives are of prime importance. If you don't have a specific goal in mind -- ambition, fame, riches, status, influence, power -- then you are looked down on. You are said to be shiftless, unmotivated and lazy.
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~
I am alone, without a place to go.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~
So weary, like having no place to return
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~
(No corresponding line)
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~
We are taught to be captains; forcing the flow around us to conform to our whims and desires.
The true sage, on the other hand, allows life to unfold around him/her and learns to move WITH the flow of energy to accomplish much...without forcibly trying to accomplish anything.
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Sometimes, I feel I have no place to go. There's this instilled sense of wrongness if you aren't going somewhere, doing something. Sometimes I see others sitting on street corners or benches and catch myself thinking "that's weird."
ReplyDeleteThere's so little public space; even coffee shops, you feel like you gotta buy something. Sitting in a park gets to feeling weird too, like, man, I should be on my way somewhere. I sometimes get a little paranoid, as if I'm going to be hassled for being aimless.
Only feel this way in the cities, though, where everything's owned, private, and busy. If you loiter anywhere too long there, it's suspicious. Maybe you're casing the joint, or crazy or dangerous. Makes me feel real bad for the homeless ones. I can relate. The cops say, "best be moving along, sir." Yeah, moving along.