The great Taoist sage, Lao-Tzu, wrote "Conduct your triumph as a funeral." Ancient wisdom of the most perplexing sort... Certainly contrary to the celebratory nature of our "so-called" human nature. Is it possible that Lao-Tzu was in touch with something deeper than human nature? I wonder, especially now as I consider the reality of Mr. Trump soon to become President... and I'm feeling as if I will be attending the funeral of progressive values...
Lao-Tzu also wrote, "The great Tao flows everywhere." Might this be a key to the idea of conducting our triumph as a funeral? The thought bubbles up: "Conduct your defeat as a celebration." No. I'm not in the least bit happy about Mr. Trump... But if the Tao is still flowing everywhere, then it is flowing in this place, in this now... So what is cause for celebration? Is there a "direction" in the flow of the Tao? Or is the Tao an endless circle? I think of my readings of history: I remember stories of slavery: the Tao seems to be flowing towards freedom... I remember stories of a general oppression of women: the Tao seems to be flowing towards equality... I remember stories of alternative expressions of sexuality hidden in closets: the Tao seems to flowing towards something even better than acceptance... I remember stories of extermination camps: the Tao seems to be flowing towards an increasing awareness of our collective responsibilities... I remember stories of world colonization: the Tao seems to be flowing towards interdependence... Everything that I remember is of course still present in different ways: there is still justified violence, nationalism, greed, racism, sexism, exploitation, oppression, and injustice: our precious blue Planet is very much @risk... and yet, I also see the flow of the Tao quite clearly now: the Tao -- the stupendous wonder of Quantum Consciousness -- is Self-Identifying as Love-Without-Limits! The Great Tao is impersonal: something that we can't comprehend: It is Source: It is Journey: It is End: It is Always New Beginning: It is a Living Revelation of the Choice to Be Love Now... Thus, this "It" of Quantum Consciousness sees, feels, hears, tastes, eats, thinks, wonders, delights, dreams, imagines, works, plays, discovers, strives, sexes, communes, and prays with and through us... And is more personal than the blood that flows through our bodies and the air that we breathe... The Great Tao has chosen Her Identity through the evolution of our human consciousness into a greater and greater awareness -- a Cosmic Awakening, if you will -- that, not Love, but Loving is our greatest good... This awareness and awakening comes with a certainty: there is no going back! Some, the likes of Mr. Putin or Mr. Trump, might hanker for the domination of yesteryear: but the Tao is flowing forward and upward... We can be glad that angry and armed militias are not in our American streets threatening civil war -- we can be glad that the protesters are demonstrating for a commitment to justice, equality, environmental regeneration, and a renewed national commitment to peace and economic fairness: two entirely different scenarios with only the one of essential kindness being played out: as Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin attempt their regressive and oppressive agendas, the few thousands will swell to many millions: the Great Tao will keep lifting us up into ever-new possibilities... Keeping in mind Lao-Tzu and the Great Tao, read these words of the Sufi Poet, Rumi: "Let the lover be disgraceful, crazy, absentminded. Someone sober will worry about events going badly... let the lover be..." Now that is precisely what I'm writing about! "Let the lovers conduct their defeats as a celebration! The Tao is flowing and we are in the swim of things!" [Note: don't you think that the little girl in the picture above is worth all the love in the Universe? If so, then perhaps our task at this moment is to party, yes, but then for us all to embody the Tao, educate in our communities, and gather in Sacred Action Circles?]
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorRobert Daniel Smith was privileged to serve the homeless and marginalized for 30 years in California. He is living now almost within shouting distance of the Twin Cities. He is a poet, artist, writer, and long-time Companion of the Way still dreaming... Archives
May 2022
|