Just a short little thought this week. I’m up to chapter 9 in the Tao te Ching and those three words are a summary of its message, to me. To keep peace and serenity in your heart, mind, and life, don’t hold too tightly to anything and don’t go overboard. This includes both in action and in thought. If we push too hard, try to acquire too much, consume too much, we risk losing whatever it was that we were…
thoughtful thursday: the ten thousand beings
February 14, 2019The phrase “the ten thousand beings” is new to me. I’ve just recently read it in Tao Te Ching: An Intuitive Interpretation by Robert M. Jankel. If you are interested in the Tao, his book has been just very recently published and I think you will enjoy it. He sent me a copy and I am appreciating yet another way to read and understand this ancient spiritual work. One nice thing that sets Mr. Jankel’s book apart is that he…
tao te ching study group
July 26, 2018Hey gardening friends! For those of you who are spiritually minded, I have created a study group on the blog. I am rereading the Tao te Ching and writing down my thoughts as I go to try and make sense of it. If you want to follow along, that would be fantastic! The text of this short little book is freely available here and there around the web, just do a bit of googling. Note that there are several versions.…
refuge
January 8, 2018If you are like me, winter may just be your favorite time for reading. Do you have anything interesting on your nightstand, smartphone or Kindle at the moment? Having recently discovered author Sally Clarkson, I’ve been reading her book The Lifegiving Home: Creating a Place of Belonging and Becoming, cowritten with her daughter Sarah Clarkson. The central theme of the book is the importance of making one’s home a place that provides a refuge, and physical and spiritual nourishment and…
like water
October 22, 2017Some more goodness from the Tao te Ching, excerpt from chapter 8 (Stephen Mitchell translation): The supreme good is like water, which nourishes all things without trying to. It is content with the low places that people disdain. Thus it is like the Tao. In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don’t try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely…
tao te ching 29
October 12, 2017things
March 6, 2017“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” Tao Te Ching verse 44, as translated by Stephen Mitchell I love this and I would love to report that I know this to be true firsthand. But, that would be misleading. There always seems to be something more that I simply must have or must do, to keep life interesting. I am working diligently to…
