Meditations- Tao 27
The path of the Sage is called "The Path of Illumination"
He who gives himself to this path is like a block of wood
that gives itself to the chisel—
Cut by cut it is honed to perfection
Excerpt From: Tzu, Lao. "Tao Te Ching." Jeremy P. Tarcher/penguin, 2008-01-10. iBooks.
Check out this book on the iBooks Store: https://itun.es/us/07W0L.l
Often it feels like life is akin to wilderness wandering. Unexpected setbacks or unwanted illness can shatter our fragile sense of equilibrium. After almost four weeks with bronchitis, I again reminded of that fragility.
But, upon further reflection, I recall similar times past where the scenario presented. And, eventually, I saw the good that could be gleaned from the bad.
And, although clearly no sage myself, I still aspire to it. I am hoping that the combination of age and persistence will somehow result in something like wisdom. And if not wisdom, then at least my own measure of awareness, acceptance, and contentment.
Because as I wrote early this year, those words are my mantra for 2017. I recall in years past - once in a men's bible study - I shared that my recent prayers had been for more patience. A fellow cult member responded, "I dare not ask for that. Because when you do, God brings everything at you to test and develop your patience."
As I am wont to do, I obviously repeated past errors in aspiring to more contentment. And, like prayers for patience, Heaven brings all her tricks to assist in my learning.
Because as Tao 27 teaches, if we commit to the "Path of Illumination" - that idea both compelling and repulsive - there will be consequences. The verse says one who does this is like the block of wood that offers itself up to the sculptor. And once offered, that same wood is at the mercy of the hammer, the chisel - and the numerous blows and cuts that will follow.
And, lest we forget, although we may be like that wood in that we can be cut, we are unique in that our cuts are never painless.
The sculptor has a vision that we may or may not share, and some of those cuts may remove things we thought irreplaceable. And unlike that stoic and mighty tree, my skin is soft and my nerves near the surface.
Each of those cuts is felt and suffered. Each loss of protective bark - each smoothing of my rough edges is keenly felt. Unlike the tree, each cut bleeds out real life and real blood.
It has been said that "growing old is not for sissies". And, although I suspect the phrase speaks more to the aches and pains - the loss of muscle and flexibility that usually accompanies aging, I believe it more truly addresses the ongoing path of personal growth.
The so-called "mid life crisis" is nearly universal. We reach that age where our dreams are found wanting - or our own ability to achieve them. We find that friends fall away as our life choices cause us to drift further apart. And we find that life is not what we expected.
But, if we yield to the knife that life offers. If we can endure the nicks and cuts that any search for meaning entails, it is my belief that we can someday see that all of it was worthwhile. All of it meant something.
It meant a life honed to our own version of perfection. Becoming all we can be. All we could have been. All we had hoped to be.
It is my faith that this is the "Path of Illumination". This is the path to contentment.
dg
3/8/17
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