The Way and the Power of Virtue

It is rare to speak of ourselves authentically – just as we are.   The whirling winds don’t last through the morning, The torrential, galloping rains don’t last through the day.   Who makes these?   Heaven and earth.   If natural disasters don't last long,  how much less so people's hardships? As human beings we talk a lot, but how often do we speak of where we really are, how things are really going in our lives?  More often than not we put up walls.  As we put ourselves on display and ride the roller coaster of relative worth , we create false facades, images of how we want others to see us – like Potemkin villages .  We whitewash our lives to look amazing.  We Photoshop out the blemishes we want to hide.  By doing so we rob ourselves of our own worth and fall victim to the beauty trap and other subjective social stereotypes.  We often justify doing so by saying that we don’t want to burden others – so we suffer in si...

When our infinite potential is disseminated, then we become vessels, And wise people utilize our infinite capabilities to serve as officials and leaders. Therefore, the greatest controlled carving – self-control – does not sever us from ourselves. When we return to our unconditioned , unshaped , and unlimited state of infinite potential and possibility, when we embrace our place in the universe as rare, unique, and precious treasures , practice true authenticity of self, and when we put that version of ourselves out there into the world, we become a vessel of transformation to nurture and nourish that in others.  The appearance of perfection is not required – only purposeful presence.  As we give ourselves permission to shine  where we are, as we are, we simultaneously give everyone around us permission to do likewise – even if they are not dancing identically to us. Wise people will see the transformation in us and the capacity as a vessel for change and will gi...

  Carrying our embodied soul and embracing unity,  can we not depart from it? Concentrating our Qi and becoming more supple,  can we be like a newborn babe? Polishing the dust from our mysterious mirror,  can we become free of blemish? As with many cultures, in ancient China people believed that death brought about the separation of the body and the soul (or the fracturing of the body from multiple pieces of the soul).   This passage is reminding us that this is a danger in life as well as in death.   Have you ever felt torn?   Pulled in multiple or opposite directions?   Have you ever felt like your head (or your body) was telling you to do one thing but your heart (or your soul) was telling you to do something else?   We all feel conflicted at times.   We live in a world that constantly presents us with competing priorities and compelling distractions.   It’s easy to get sidetracked.   To spend time doing what isn’t mos...

Therefore, the Way is expansive, the heavens are expansive, the earth is expansive, and people are, for their part, expansive. There are Four Expansives in the realm,  and humanity resides as one of them. Humanity emulates the earth, the earth emulates the heavens, the heavens emulate the Way,  and the Way emulates things just as they are. What the “Old Master” called the “Four Expansives” are four sources of inspiration, four places we can turn to in expanding and enlarging our souls, our thoughts, our beliefs, and our ability to do good in the world.   They are: the Way, the heavens, the earth, and people.   The Way is expansive .   It expands us.   It enlarges our view of ourselves, our possibilities, our potential, the world, and those around us.  This is because there is ALWAYS a Way -- a Way to get from wherever we are to wherever we want to be in our lives.   The Way meets us where we are and provides a personal path of possibi...

  Great favor and disgrace are both alarming; value great hardship as you do yourself. What do I mean by ‘great favor and disgrace are both alarming?’   If great favor comes down into our lives,  we are alarmed when we obtain it, and if we lose it, we are alarmed.   This is what I mean by ‘great favor and disgrace are both alarming.’ When I was in 6th grade, I moved to a new school.  As the new kid, I didn't know anyone and nobody knew me.  However, because of a birth injury I have Erb's Palsy, which resulted in one arm being smaller and with more limited range of motion.  At the time, it was a visible handicap and the "cool" kids at school teased me about it and called me names.  One day, at lunch I convinced them to let me play football with them.  After essentially ignoring me on the field for the entire game, on the last play I was wide open in the endzone.  After waving my arms at the quarterback for what seemed an eternit...