March 24, 2012
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tao for a sunny saturday, ‘chapter 64′
Peace is easily maintained; Trouble is easily overcome before it starts.
The brittle is easily shattered; The small is easily scattered.
Deal with it before it happens.
Set things in order before there is confusion.
A tree as great as a man’s embrace springs up from a small shoot; A terrace nine stories high begins with a pile of earth; A journey of a thousand miles starts under one’s feet.
He who acts defeats his own purpose; He who grasps loses.
The sage does not act, and so is not defeated.
He does not grasp and therefore does not lose.
People usually fail when they are on the verge of success.
So give as much care to the end as to the beginning; Then there will be no failure.
Therefore the sage seeks freedom from desire.
He does not collect precious things.
He learns not to hold on to ideas.
He brings men back to what they have lost.
He helps the ten thousand things find their own nature, But refrains from action.
Comments (2)
“Deal with it before it happens. Set things in order before there is confusion.” Really goes along with the realization I need to ground myself right now and set my roots deep. There is a lot in this that I need to reread later.
When I first saw the picture, I thought “The Jetsons!” For some reason your tower made me think of that. Great. Now I have Astro and Elroy on my mind! LOL!
He does not collect precious things.
He learns not to hold on to ideas.
He brings men back to what they have lost.
He helps the ten thousand things find their own nature, But refrains from action.
Those are the ones that speak to me. I assume that’s why Lao Tzu put them at the end.
Of course, precious things are things that might be precious to the individual, not necessarily to everyone else. It could be love, or loved ones, or a turtle’s shell. I assume this is where detachment comes in. ? Giving things away. Makes it easier to be generous. ?