Verse Four

Tao is empty yet it fills every vessel with endless supply.
Tao is hidden yet it shines in every corner of the universe

Energy in the void
Space holds everything together
The importance of water to the ocean dwellers
The importance of air to the land dwellers
Water and air are both visible and invisible
When you fear it, you see it
When you don’t, you don’t see it, and it helps you to live

Application: When I’ve been full of anxiety, what usually helps me does not. What is usually beneficial around me fails because I am full of the negative energy of fear and anxiety. I become too conscious of what I am anxious about and it overtakes me that all I can exude is negativity, which will inevitably disappear when I stop worrying. Those closest to me have been the measuring devices for this effect, unfortunately.

With it, the sharp edges become smooth, the twisted knots loosen, the sun is softened by a cloud, the dust settles into place.

· Time is also like water and air
· It’s only perceived when in fear, fully conscious of one’s individuality
· The erosion is beneficial
· Time serves unity and not the individual

Application: Time is only a problem when meeting your selfish needs from survival to working at a job. I should think of time like water. The more we struggle against time, the faster we drown. It’s only when we are calm that we can float and go with the current. The four dimensions (space & time) help us along our path, and I am aware of struggling against it when I start struggling against them.

So deep, so pure, so still—It has been this way forever
You may ask, “Whose child is it?”—but I cannot say
The child was here before the Great Ancestor

· Time is timeless
· Everything in the individual world can be measured
· Everything in unity cannot be measured
· We are always here, but I will pass away
· The Great Ancestor is the big bang, Adam and Eve, the birth of the individual

Application: When contemplating the known or perceivable universe, I must keep in mind that it is a universe of individuals. I am an individual in a universe where everything appears separate and is labeled so. But beyond our perceptions is the universe of unity, that is constant and timeless. The rules of the individual universe do not apply to the unified universe. All I know is that Unity is the source of all individuals and the perception of individuals. The closest we can grasp Unity is when we view all as one. For me, this happens during meditation. And the great feeling dissipates once I regain my individuality.