Learning humility and self love through the Tao
As a regular person, friend, mother, sister, teacher, partner I am so often overwhelmed by the depth of the task, filled with fear that I might make a mistake and damage my future relationship for ever!
It is always so easy to believe that we make a difference, that we are so important and that we are so indispensable but what the Tao teaches is that we are but a mere speck; that all our self importance is just our ego and that if we can finally focus on giving freely, loving unconditionally and forgiving with compassion, then we will experience peace, grace, abundance and love.
In an effort to remind myself to release all ego, I decided to read the Tao Te Ching again. I bought yet a third translation, this one is by Brian Browne Walker.
There are a mere 81 short verses, each with beautiful, deep and meaningful messages. The following is but a few of my very favorites:
You have to become sick of your sickness in order to get rid of it.
The person who is truly good concerns themselves only with what they owe others and not what others owe them.
A person of Tao acts without expectation, accomplishes without taking credit and has no desire to display his merit.
With motherly love one can be courageous, with economy one can be expansive and with humility and one can lead.
If you compete with no-one, no-one competes with you.
Filling to fullness is not as good as stopping at the right moment.
A vessel is made of solid clay but its inner emptiness makes it useful so in order to make use of what is here you must make use of what is not. Phew that one is complicated!!
Allow yourself to yield and you will stay centered, allow yourself to bend and you will stay straight, allow yourself to be empty and you will get full, allow your self to be exhausted and you will be replenished.
What is to be reduced must first be expanded, what is to be weakened must first be made strong, what is to be discarded must first be embraced, what is to be taken away must first be given.
The soft overcomes the hard and the weak overcomes the strong,
It is in Giving that we feed ourselves.
Recommended Reading
"The Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu" by Brian Browne Walker
"Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life : Living the Wisdom of the Tao" by Dr. Wayne Dyer
"Tao TE Ching : Annotated and Explained", by by Derek Lin (Translator) , Lama Surya Das (Foreword)
written by Marjolein Brugman
Marjolein Brugman is the founder of lighterliving and Aeropilates. “lighterliving is a movement and lifestyle choice we can all make. Let’s make it simple – make one decision a day to be better and watch the small steps lead to big changes. Eat smart, stay active, and you’ll live to feel a lighter life."