…about the Tao

The difference between a formal “yes”
and a casual “yeah” – how slight!
The difference between knowing the Truth
and not knowing it – how great!

Must I fear what others fear?
Should I fear desolation
when there is abundance?
Should I fear darkness
when that light is shining everywhere?
Nonsense!
The people of this world are steeped in their merrymaking
as if gorging at a great feast
or watching the sights of springtime
Yet here I sit, without a sign,
staring blank-eyed like a child

I am but a guest in this world
While others rush about to get things done
I accept what is offered
Oh, my mind is like that of a fool
aloof to the clamor of life around me
Everyone seems so bright and alive
with the sharp distinctions of day
I appear dark and dull
with the blending of differences by night

I am drifting like an ocean, floating like the high winds
Everyone is so rooted in this world
yet I have no place to rest my head
Indeed I am different…
I have no treasure but the Eternal Mother
I have no food but what comes from her breast

…Verse 20 from “Tao Te Ching”
Lao-Tzu, translated by Jonathan Star
ISBN: 978-158542-618-8