The Way and the Power of Virtue

Who can be stirred up and use serenity to move toward greater clarity?   Who can be at rest and use serenity to move toward steady growth? Those who preserve this Way, have no desire to be overfilled.   It is only because they are not overfilled that they can be tattered like grass and yet reformed anew.   There is a fine line between being fired up and passionate and overzealous.   A balance must be struck between action and reflection.   We cannot just let our passion carry us away.   We need not rush heedless down the path.   As the saying, “I don’t know where I’m going but I’m making good time!” attests, sometimes we need to slow down, get our bearings, get in touch with our true selves, and gain clarity.   Sometimes we get so caught up in the ride, it is important to build in some down time for self-care, stillness , and serenity.   It is in those down times that we can gain increasing clarity of our inherent worth and purpose. ...

Wise people set themselves and others forever free from outsmarting and expectations.   They won’t ever try to outsmart others and they do not act only for themselves – then nothing is left ungoverned. To become sages, we engage in a two-fold process of self-acceptance and surrender of our own expectations.   To become sages, or wise people, we must constantly setting ourselves and others free from the need to “outsmart” others – understanding that we are already enough.   Content in our identity and purpose, we don’t need to look for opportunities to appear smart or put others down to curry favor or to outmaneuver others through our cunning or intellect, our best laid plans, or by devising strategies to outcompete or get ahead at the expense of others.   We don’t need to “ show off ," roast someone, always have a witty or barbed comment or backhanded complement -- even though that is what is portrayed and propagated in so much of our entertainment and social med...