THE TAO TE CHING - VERSE 12

I have taken this 12th verse of the Tao Te Ching from Stephen Mitchell’s interpretation.
Colors blind the eye. Sounds deafen the ear. Flavors numb the taste. Thoughts weaken the mind. Desires wither the heart. The Master observes the world but trusts his inner vision. He allows things to come and go. His heart is open as the sky.

Again this verse is an affirmation of what Lao Tzu speaks about over and over again.  Don’t get attached to the outer world, it is not the source of our happiness and over time, if we follow only the senses, we will be overcome by them.  It is in the inner world, from our connection to our Creator, where we will find the purest of joy. 

 When Lao Tzu speaks of “His heart is open as the sky” what he is saying is to imagine the empty sky.  In its vastness it allows the stars, the planets, the suns, the comets, and the tiniest of particles to move through it.  Yet it does not make any of these substances permanent fixtures.  Everything moves. Everything changes.  The sky appreciates what enters its space then allows the substances to move on.

As one who has experienced the death of my parents at a fairly early age (22) I think I began learning this lesson very early in my adult life.  Nothing is permanent.  People come, people go.  Jobs come and jobs go. Houses come and houses go.  Friends come and friends go…and even the ones who stay change and grow and transform into different people over time.

 I think of the child I used to be.  Although there are aspects of her still inside of me I am no longer her.  Thank God!  The child of long ago was filled with so many fears and insecurities.  She was very self-centered and quick to judge and point fingers…both at herself and others.  She had preconceived ideas of the people, both close and distant, she encountered and never gave anyone a chance to prove to her that they were different than who her perspective made them out to be.  But as the years have passed and I have grown and changed and become the person I am today I know that others have grown and changed also and that both they and I will continue to grow and change until the day we die.  So I must pay attention as them come and go so as to understand these new people every time we meet.

I now know that everything outside me is impermanent and even the thoughts and feelings inside me are impermanent.  What is permanent, what I have held onto as my anchor and strength throughout the years, is my Source, the Spirit of God within me, the one who knows my very soul and the truth in my heart.  This Holiest of Spirits guides and strengthens me and keeps me reassured to the fact that no matter what happens around me I will always be safe.  It is through this belief in my anchor that I know, without a doubt, that I am eternal. 

References:

Mitchell, Stephen (2009-10-13). Tao Te Ching (p. 6). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

The Laozi (2009-10-04). The Tao Teh King, or the Tao and its Characteristics (Kindle Locations 29-30). Public Domain Books. Kindle Edition.
 
Mitchell, Stephen; Katie, Byron (2007-02-06). A Thousand Names for Joy: Living in Harmony with the Way Things Are (p. 13). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Dyer, Wayne Dr. 1 Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life, Audio Version, (Disc 2)