Putting a value on status will create contentiousness. If you overvalue possessions, people begin to steal. By not displaying what is desirable, you will cause the people’s hearts to remain undisturbed.
The sage governs by emptying minds and hearts, by weakening ambitions and strengthening bones.
Practice not doing. When action is pure and selfless, everything settles into its own perfect place.
Ego drives desire, desire drives want, want gets us possessions, possession breed contention, contention breeds theft.
In our society, we work hard, to support family and to buy things. In America, one of the biggest possessions that we take pride in is our car. I even owned a truck once, and when I had to get rid of it, I cried. We love them, become attached to them and show them off. Yet in America, one of the most popular crimes is auto theft.
The things we have and where we live assign a label to us. I live in a modest house, have modest cars, put food on the table and get my children educated. Certainly it shows I have some status to my life, but I have balance between income, what I have been provided, and how I provide for my family. There is nothing I own that I would consider over the top or extravagant but, to someone who has less, or is less fortunate, they may want the things that I own.
It is becoming attached to these items that is bad for the soul. Do not be attached to your possessions. If they are stolen or lost in some kind of tragedy, it will become emotional. Our emotions should be intertwined with people and nature and not with possessions.
Not being attached to the items or things we have, to include money, allows us to give freely and donate sincerely. When we give freely, whether by an intangable getsture of time or effort, or with something tangable like money or clothing, you will be rewarded ten fold.
The last verse states, “practice not doing”. This is not permission to be lazy. It should be interpreted as a way to think things through, to listen to your inner being. Think about how you were when you were a baby. When you were hungry, you cried, when you were tired, you slept. As that baby, you did nothing and let your body react to its natural needs.
As we grow older, there are more societal demands and outside pressures. These pressure may cloud thoughts and judgement. Practice doing nothing. That is to say, think, breath, and go with the flow. Meditate on the situation. A solution awaits you on the other side.
Like Ty said to Danny during a round of golf in the movie Caddyshack, “Be the ball Danny…the ball.”
Filed under: It's all about the Tao | Tagged: Family, Life, possessions, religion, stress., Tao
