The Tao of...

Trey Smith

Almost everyone I know has a few pet peeves. Here's one of mine. It irritates me to no end when I run across a book title that starts with "The Tao of ..." What most authors mean is "The Way of..." or "The Truth of..."

For example, the other day I saw a book entitled, "The Tao of Golf." In reading a summary of the book, the author magnanimously wants to share with readers THE way to become a successful golfer.

My issue isn't with the use of the word, Tao. No, my gripe centers on the word, THE. The inference is that there is one way (or truth) to look at whatever the subject matter is. To my way of thinking, this notion runs counter to one of the core messages of philosophical Taoism.

There is no one path or way. My path will be different than your path and the path I ply today may well be different than the path I plod tomorrow and it certainly is different than the path I ambled down yesterday.

Whether someone is writing about golf, fishing, baking bread, painting or leadership, there is no universal one way to get from point A to point B.

So, I would kindly like to suggest to any author out there who is contemplating writing a book that begins with "The Tao of..." simply to replace the word "The" with the word "A."

"A Tao of..." would show that the author understands that he/she merely is offering one (out of gazillions) possible way of doing whatever it is. It shows a good degree of humility -- which happens to be one of the three pillars.

Okay, rant over with. ;-)