Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 21 - The Mystery

         "I think, therefore I am."  Descartes

"Henny Penny didn't know, thinking doesn't make it so." The folk tale, Chicken Little.

     Who was right, Descartes or Henny Penny?
     Both? Neither?

     Emerging from the Great Mystery, the Origin of our existence, we are Spirit clothed in flesh.  At our heart, in our essence, is the kernel of the Divine, endowing us with self awareness.  Like unto like, even in this most important manifestation.

     Remaining faithful to this Principle bestows on us all the attributes of the Tao.  The world spins; amidst wars, economic collapse, catastrophic natural disasters, the Tao remains: unchanged, loving, peaceful. 

     Let us keep that awareness at the core of who we are - the Mystery made manifest.

 

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 20 - To This Day

     How many times during the course of this day do we tarry behind into another moment long past or leap ahead into a future not-yet realized experience neglecting the here and now?

     The precious moments of the present, these fleeting bits of life will never come again, yet when taken together they are life itself.

     Worry and regret and even past joys detract from the wonder of this day.  Each brief moment holding the sustenance and power that fulfills even our smallest need.

     "Look to this day, for it is life. The very life of life.", writes the Sanskrit sage.

     The power of the Tao resides in the now.  With the faith that all is provided brings us to a state of completeness and fulfillment.  Free from striving, we are free to love, appreciate and rejoice in the wonder that life provides... moment by moment.

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 19 - The Self-Referring Path

     When what we learn is based on what we read, when being moral is based on societal rules or religious dictates and when business is based on "getting a good deal" and "making a killing", we have moved from our true center of being.

   Living from the heart first appears to go against all the rules, expectations and acceptability of society.  So caught up in the all-encompassing outer fabric, we can forget for a time the loving guidance the Tao-centered path can bring.

     What is true?  What is good?  What is kind and generous?  Inwardly we know.  That spark of divinity within is never extinguished.  Having the courage and strength to follow our own true guidance honors our Creator and blesses our world.
    

Further Thoughts Along the Journey - Verse 18 - The Government of the Heart

     Love, compassion and kindness cannot be legislated and so we have laws.  When people cease to live from their hearts, from the qualities inherent in us, from DNA built into us from our beginnings, we are ruled by our government and religious leaders.

     When we live from our heart there is no need to have laws governing our actions.  We give love naturally, we give kindness freely and justice is always done because we know in our souls, we are all one.  We affect each other directly or like concentric ripples indirectly, but just as powerfully.

     It is not always easy to be kind when kindness is not shown us; our first impulse is to react with unkindness of our own.  It is the second impulse that makes us a person of the Tao when we remember who we are and what our purpose is.  We are children of the Most High and our purpose is to restore heaven on earth.