The Power of Water

"Nothing on earth
Is more gentle and yielding than water
Yet nothing is stronger."

(Tao Te Ching 78 )

Water nurtures all life on earth. Falling from the sky to the ground as precipitation—rain or snow—it flows as surface water through rivers into lakes and oceans, or percolates deep into the earth through layers of sediment, becoming aquifers, vast underground lakes. With the sun’s heat, surface water evaporates, rising as vapor to form clouds, and the cycle begins again. There is always the same amount of water on earth. We drink the same water that the dinosaurs drank. The golden wheat fields of the American Midwest are irrigated by water from the Ogallala Aquifer, a massive underground lake that dates back to the Pleistocene era

Throughout its cycle, water takes many forms--from snowflakes, tiny lace mandallas from the sky, to shimmering icicles, to a summer’s day heavy with humidity, to the rapids of a roaring river.

Water can be beautiful or destructive. A few weeks ago, violent rain storms flooded El Salvador, washing out roads, trapping a group of students on a mountain top, destroying crops, leaving many people homeless and hungry. As the water cycle connects us all, so in the cycle of life, we are all connected. Many of us are reaching out to help, sending our thoughts and prayers and contributing what we can to Programa Velasco to help the disaster victims at http://programavelasco.org/diaster-relief-?lang=en

All contributions, large and small, are welcome.

The water cycle includes us all, and there’s a powerful parallel between water and the energies of our lives. Some energies are creative, life-sustaining; others, destructive streams of fear or greed. Each day, we contribute to the collective energy of the planet, the cycle of life within and around us.

Living creatively means becoming more mindful of our energies. Take a moment to ask yourself:
--Am I adding to the currents of fear flooding our planet?
--Or does my heart open in currents of compassion, loving kindness, to nurture and create?

Whatever challenges you are facing in your life,

Take a deep breath.
Breathe out fear.
Breathe in love.
Connect with the eternal cycle of life

Right here, right now.

References:
For the Tao quote, Dreher, D. (2000). The Tao of Inner Peace. New York: Penguin Putnam.

To contribute to disaster relief, http://programavelasco.org/diaster-relief-?lang=en

Yin and Yang

I’ve been interested in Eastern philosophy for a long time—because the Western World too often traps us in the logical fallacy of the false dilemma, reducing the whole world of our experience into only two choices: either/or, right or wrong, all or nothing, us or them.

Such thinking violates us at a deep level, turning conflict into combat, leading us into war.

Taoism originated 26 centuries ago during the warring states period in ancient China, inspiring two philosophers with very different visions of order.
Confucius developed an elaborate series of li, rules, social etiquette, reverence for ancestors & tradition.
Lao Tzu, the Henry David Thoreau of ancient China, found a dynamic order in the cycles of nature, sunlight and shadow, mountain and valley, action and repose--yin and yang.

Yang is the active element, yin the contemplative. Both are essential--yin and yang: valley and mountain, night and day, listening and speaking, self and other.
To be healthy, we each need both in dynamic balance--and we all need such a balance now more than ever to move from our conflict-ridden, chaotic world into new patterns of peace.

Insights for today from ancient China

Taoism was developed over 25 centuries ago, around 530 BCE, during the warring states period in ancient China, a time of challenge and change much like our own. Lao Tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching, a book of 81 poems translated more than any book in the world except the Bible, offering principles especially relevant to us today. Lao Tzu and Confucius were contemporaries. Each came up with his own response to challenging times. Confucius emphasized ritual, obedience, and observation of social rules, while Lao Tzu studied nature, basing his philosophy upon the interrelatedness of all things, the patterns of energy within and around us.

Taoism has always appealed to creative thinkers, artists and innovators, such as Hegel, Dag Hammarskjold, Abraham Maslow, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Carl Rogers, who carried in his wallet this quote from the Tao:

With the best of leaders,
When the work is done,
The project completed,
The people all say
"We did it ourselves."
(Tao, 17)

In the spirit of Tao leadership, I'm delighted to link to a new blog that Rebecca has begun, meditating on Tao principles from my book, The Tao of Inner Peace.

What is your calling now?

I was surprised to learn that my alumni presentation next Saturday on "Finding Your Calling in This Season of Life" has enrolled twice what we'd expected. Clearly, this "back to school" season beckons many of us to pursue new projects, new intentions. Studies have shown that people of all ages are happier and healthier when they pursue their own meaningful goals. And as citizens in a world of challenge and change, we are architects of our collective future. We have the power not only to change our lives but to create our country anew with the small choices we make each day.

What is your intention for this new season?
What do you feel really called to do?

Think of one small step you can take in that direction and begin moving forward.
As the Tao Te Ching reminds us:

"The journey of a thousand miles
Begins with a single step."

I wish you joy on the path.