Each Sunday (ok, most Sundays) I have a weekly feature here at You, Simplified where I share my thoughts on a passage of the Tao Te Ching. I’ve dedicated a page of the website to serve as the table of contents for all the musings. Additionally,a blogging friend of mine, Kye Nelson, is joining in on the fun and we invite other bloggers and readers to share their thoughts as well. Together we have are calling this The Tao Project.
Now, on to Passage 12:
Colors blind the eye
Sounds deafen the ear.
Flavors numb the taste
Thoughts weaken the mind.
Desires wither the heart.
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The master observes the world
but trusts his inner vision.
He allows things to come and go.
His heart is open as the sky.
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Commentary:
This is a very short passage but its message to me is ever more relevant than at any point in history.
We are so inundated with sensual stimuli in modern society that we haven’t a moment to hear ourselves think.
Try something new next time and ride to and from work without the radio on. Ride in silence and just concentrate on the moment of driving.
I used to load up my IPOD with all sorts of personal development tracks and ride my bike into work. Then I realized I was missing the sights, the sounds, the smells. Like the moment that I make a right to drive along the water and I pick up the smell of sea life. Or when I ride by the granaries and catch the smell of fresh baked cereals. These are delights to the senses and I delight in their simplicity and can enjoy them without the other distractions. I can hear the sounds of birds and when I stop for a moment, I can pick out clouds and playfully burst them.
I enjoy these moments of beauty, in the moment, but I can always let them go for the next delight. Am I a Tao master? Hardly, but I can take the reminders to drive out the distractions and simply observe the world as it goes by.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Oh man! I absolutely love riding/working out without music. (I actually mentioned that somewhere on my blog recently.)
“I realized I was missing the sights, the sounds, the smells.”
That’s it right there. I don’t go outside to ride my bike so I can get lost in voices and/or music. I go outside to ride my bike so I can get lost in nature and/or thought.
Karol