Act without doing;
work without effort.
Think of the small as large
and the few as many.
Confront the difficult
while it is still easy;
accomplish the great task
by a series of small acts.
The Master never reaches for the great,
thus she achieves greatness.
Translation of the Tao Te Ching by Stephen Mitchel
Chapter 63 / Bright Fey
ReplyDeleteAct decisively by actively
being still and appearing
to do no thing.
hear what others will not hear
taste what others will not taste
touch what others will not touch
smell what others will not smell
feel what others will not feel
think what others will not think
reach into the small and make it large
touch the multitudes and with a turn of your wrist
make them few
know the virtue of turning your palm
from covering the earth to supporting the heavens
and those things that are wrong within and without
will be righted
attend the moment
at the moment
do not wait until the task is half over
being one degree askew in the beginning
results in missing your destination altogether
and no matter how well planned a journey is
there will always be a need for course corrections
in fact
sage wise men will not even think about a
destination
before their journey
begins
they have already
arrived
if you make a promise to yourself
keep it
not going to your heart spirit
forces it to come to you
in disorder
that disturbs the bodymind
crippling it to living
approach everything with respect for the magic
inside of it
adhering to the terms of each encounter
so life will unfold
easily.
Chapter 63 Brian Browne Walker
ReplyDeleteAct by not acting,
accomplish by not straining,
understand by not knowing.
Regard the humble as exalted
and the exalted as humble.
Remedy injury with tranquil repair.
Meet the difficult while it is still easy;
cross the universe one step at a time.
Because the sage doesn't try anything too big.
she's able to accomplish big things.
Those who commit lightly seldom come through.
Those who think everything is easy
will find everything hard.
The sage understands that everything is difficult and thus in the end has no difficulties.