Out of One, Many

Verse 42 starts like this in English:
"Tao gives life to the one
The one gives life to the two
The two give life to the three
The three give life to ten thousand things."

God is all and we are a part of it.
Yet in this world we see ourselves as "ten thousand" people.
The Chinese character/symbol for "ten thousand" also means "many."
Out of all these people, you can divide the human race into two:

• us and them
• men and women
• dominant and passive
• givers and takers
• etc.

But this dualistic view of the world (liberal/conservative) lacks shape and roundedness. What is lacking is the third element--the element that binds us and unites us. Here are some examples of what binds two apparent opposites:

• love - men and women
• money - buyer and seller
• food - cook and consumer

And when we turn our focus from the opposite to the binding element, we then can find peace.

• 1 Man + 1 Woman = 1 child (3 total people)
• 1 Person + 1 Other Person through Love = all things possible (10,000+)

All this I have interpreted from part of a verse in the middle of the Tao Te Ching. What can you get?