stand in the shape of greatness
with feet resting firmly upon the land
and arms ringed as if holding a large tree
embracing and holding the vastness
of the tao source of life

it seems silly that such a simple activity
can bring you to greatness
but it can

in fact
if it didn’t appear silly and simple
it would not be worth it
at all

stand in the shape of greatness
radiating a mother’s love for all the world
restraining the outflowing of your life force
remaining vigilant and aware of the world’s momentum

for a mother’s love is selfless and fearless
restrained life force is amplified until needed
and vigilance will help you avoid the knives
that are all around you

for true greatness to present itself
moderation is the key

being too compassionate in your life
being too generous with your life
being the leader who saves everyone else’s life
will end your own
before its time

a mother’s love is an impenetrable fortress
a mother’s love is an unstoppable weapon

stand in the shape of greatness
with a mother’s love
and heaven will flow into you

—Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching; An authentic Taoist translation. translated by John Bright-Fey

The Tao source of life is the universe as it is—objectively, as it is—beyond and separate from our limited human conception and perception. This makes the Tao source of life, to us anyway, the same as the unknowable. It is the same uncertainty from which emergencies arise just like lost treasures and forgotten monsters emerge from beneath the tides of deep, impenetrable waters. Connotatively speaking, the Tao source of like is the human source of hope as well as anxiety and despair. It is these thing inseparably wrapped up together like a ball of string. To pull out a thread is to watch the whole entity unravel. Thus, the Tao source of life is simultaneously happiness and suffering.

Think about that, then consider what it means to willingly and even lovingly embrace the world (i.e. the Tao source of life). Perhaps it seems absurd to do so, to embrace life for all its pain and unfairness. Many have come to that exact conclusion. However, if we play with the notion that it is we who are responsible and not our environments, what conclusions might we come to instead. If we are the ones to laud or blame, then our opinions about the absurdity of life are really just observations about ourselves. Life is as it is and can be no way else. We, on the other hand, may place the focal point of our vision where we like. We alone control the power of assent and dissent. Desire and aversion are decisions of our own making, bounded though they may be, but nonetheless free within those bounds.

So, as absurd as it seems to embrace life, that seeming is merely a marker of our own inadequacy. It is the difference between us as we are and the potential that we might achieve—that same potential shaped by the objective nature of the universe coming into contact with our unique selves (i.e. inherited personality and environmental influences). It seems silly because we are too ignorant to understand it properly—the very same reason embracing it can make us great.

Embracing life allows for real compassion, real discipline, and the courage to see the world’s threats as they are. These are virtues and treasures that ought to be cultivated, but always in balance with one another. An excess of the maternal (e.g. compassion, selflessness, and nourishment) leads to weakness in the target of that love. Similarly, an excess of the paternal (e.g. discipline, restraint, and judgement) leads to the target becoming crushed under the weight of its imperfection. Both mercy and justice are necessary for being, and the same is true for vigilance as well. Too much fixation on the terrible side of external Nature or to the darker half of the soul of man is to look long and be swallowed a pit of despair—and in that pit, only hatred, bitterness, and resentment prevail. Too little attention, however, and the creatures of the pit, hidden by willful blindness, will crawl up from the hearts of others and even from one’s own feelings of unfairness. Too much or too little, and decent is inevitable.

But with the proper balance, seeing the world for what it is—light and dark—not withholding judgement, but choosing to love it in the end is what allows the Tao source of life to shape you into your most authentic self.

Lao-tzu. “Chapter Sixty-Seven”. Tao Te Ching; An Authentic Taoist Translation, translated by John Bright-Fey, Sweetwater Press, 2014. pp.127-28