"A truly good person doesn't dwell on her goodness.
Thus she can be truly good.
A person of false goodness never forgets her
goodness.
Thus her goodness is always false.
A truly good person does nothing,
yet nothing remains undone.
A person of false goodness is forever doing,
yet everything remains forever undone.
Those who are interested in service act
without motive.
Those who are interested in righteousness
act with motives of all sorts.
This who are interested in propriety act
and receiving no response, they roll up
their sleeves and use force.
When Tao is lost, goodness appears.
When goodness is lost, philanthropy appears.
When philanthropy is lost, justice appears.
When justice is lost, only etiquette is left.
Etiquette is the faintest husk of real loyalty
and faith, and it is the beginning of confusion.
Knowledge of the future is only a blossom of Tao;
to become preoccupied with it is folly.
Thus the sage sets her sights on the substance
and not the surface, on the fruit and
not the flower.
Leaving the one, she gains the other."
In therapy years ago, I talked about my longing. "What I'm not hearing," my therapist said in thoughtful response, "is the 'cookie cutter' wedding dream. That's good."
I knew then I wanted something good, something right. As anxious about the future as I had let myself become--then, as now--I couldn't be preoccupied with details. I had let go of those as my father lay dying in the hospital--one mad flight of fancy to end all my dreams. Dad giving me away in a suit--Dad never wore suits--and a red tie, whirling me around the dance floor. I almost could smell the orange blossoms in my veil. One last flight of fancy before death became mine for a lifetime.
At 13 I had lost the will to dream of the future. As a grown-up I've struggled with the courage to ask for love. It all still seems like too much--too much to ask and hope for.
Thus she can be truly good.
A person of false goodness never forgets her
goodness.
Thus her goodness is always false.
A truly good person does nothing,
yet nothing remains undone.
A person of false goodness is forever doing,
yet everything remains forever undone.
Those who are interested in service act
without motive.
Those who are interested in righteousness
act with motives of all sorts.
This who are interested in propriety act
and receiving no response, they roll up
their sleeves and use force.
When Tao is lost, goodness appears.
When goodness is lost, philanthropy appears.
When philanthropy is lost, justice appears.
When justice is lost, only etiquette is left.
Etiquette is the faintest husk of real loyalty
and faith, and it is the beginning of confusion.
Knowledge of the future is only a blossom of Tao;
to become preoccupied with it is folly.
Thus the sage sets her sights on the substance
and not the surface, on the fruit and
not the flower.
Leaving the one, she gains the other."
In therapy years ago, I talked about my longing. "What I'm not hearing," my therapist said in thoughtful response, "is the 'cookie cutter' wedding dream. That's good."
I knew then I wanted something good, something right. As anxious about the future as I had let myself become--then, as now--I couldn't be preoccupied with details. I had let go of those as my father lay dying in the hospital--one mad flight of fancy to end all my dreams. Dad giving me away in a suit--Dad never wore suits--and a red tie, whirling me around the dance floor. I almost could smell the orange blossoms in my veil. One last flight of fancy before death became mine for a lifetime.
At 13 I had lost the will to dream of the future. As a grown-up I've struggled with the courage to ask for love. It all still seems like too much--too much to ask and hope for.
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