Those who look down upon this world will surely take hold and try to change things. But this is a plan I've always seen fail. The world is Tao's own vessel. It is perfection manifest. It cannot be changed. It cannot be improved. For those who go on tampering, it's ruined. For those who try to grasp, it's gone.
- This is the problem with politics, usually liberals
- One should embrace change yet not bring about change because change always comes
Application: This is what helped me lose interest in politics. It also helped me away from voting either Democrat or Republican. I find myself closer to the Libertarian Party than even before, but I'm not sure if I'll vote for them. Politicians usually change the world for the worse. Its the people that change the world for the better.
Allow your life to unfold naturally. Know that it is a vessel of perfection. Just as you breathe in and breathe out, sometimes you're ahead and other times behind, sometimes you're strong and other times weak, sometimes you're with people and other times alone.
- For everything there is a season
- Do not fret during times of weakness and loneliness because they pass
Application: I found this passage to be full of hope. When I'm down, I know I can only progress upwards. When I'm up, I cherish the moment because it won't last forever.
To the Sage all of life is a movement toward perfection
So what need has he for the excessive, the extravagant, or the extreme?
- One can find pleasure in the commonalities of the world
- People and things that often catch the senses have problems of their own
- Being excessive, extravagant, and extreme cause isolation from the world
Application: The news media glorifies the abnormal. Sometimes it makes us feel great to be normal. Other times it makes us wish we were abnormal (famous). We should be comfortable with who we are. In the end, we will achieve perfection. All we have to be is patient. Patience was my biggest lesson of 2006.
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