Line by Line - Verse 55, Line 11

To him by whom this harmony is known,
(The secret of) the unchanging (Tao) is shown,
~ James Legge translation, from The Sacred Books of the East, 1891 ~

Knowing harmony is constancy.
~ Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation, published by Vintage Books, 1989 ~

Knowing harmony is said to be constancy
~ Derek Lin translation, from Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths, 2006 ~

If you're at one with the world,
you know constancy.
~ Ron Hogan rendition, from Beatrice.com, 2004 ~

When we each are newly born, we don't see a separate "me" versus the outside world. For us, everything is one: the self is part of everything else and that everything else is part of the nebulous individual self.

This lack of distinction or separation can be viewed as a sense of harmony; different and various notes and hues combined into one one existence, one perspective, one world. It is a time of sheer wonderment.

How sad it is that we lose this essence as we age!

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