Whoever is planted in the Tao
will not be rooted up.
Whoever embraces the Tao
will not slip away.
Her name will be held in honor
from generation to generation.
. . .
Translation of the Tao Te Ching by Stephen Mitchell
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What in me will not be rooted up? Is my answer make believe or real? I feel it is real and consider it my selfhood. Always there but first noticed during the disasters of my life when all I thought was stable, was taken away. Take what you will of me —my marriage, my career. My mother and father. My church and my faith. But wait—I'm here. Even as what I thought was the best of me is gone. The Self of me stays. As I have become aware of this never going away part of me, the fearful bits of my life have shrunk—and I see all fear becoming particles replacing boulders in the road. This is not exception. This is life. I can dress it in various clothes and it remains the un-nameable presence of me. And, I know this. The most comfortable aspect of this knowing feels like my companion, always here. The best friend of me. The companion who charges ahead beckoning me to come. The same part of me who is wiping my brow. Validly permanent—not to be uprooted.
ReplyDeleteI like your observation. It seems to be right in line with some ideas that have been resonating with me as well.
ReplyDeleteWhen I am "planted in" and "embraced by" the Tao I am most my genuine self. As this realization swells within me it reaches beyond me and I find it in my wider world. Perhaps this is where healing happens.