Day 74 - #31

"Weapons are tools of evil, shunned and
avoided by everything in nature.
Because people of Tao follow nature,
they want nothing to do with weapons.

Unevolved people are eager to act out of strength,
but a person of Tao values peace and quiet.
He knows that every being is born in the
womb of Tao.
This means that his enemies are his enemies
second, his own brothers and sisters first.

This he resorts to weapons only in the direst
necessity, and then uses them with
utmost restraint.
He takes no pleasure in victory, because
to rejoice in victory is to delight in killing.
Whoever delights in killing will not find
success in this world.

Observe victories as you observe a
death in the family: with sorrow and mourning.
Every victory is a funeral for kin."

How many weapons do I use every day? Words, money, and of course my very thoughts. Those are the worst. I turn them on myself and then who knows how they get turned on others through my words and actions? I try so hard to protect others, to love them and believe in them. I'm undermined at every turn by my own weapons. All I can do is lay them down again and again.