Thirty-Nine

"If you go searching for the Great Creator, you will
come back empty-handed.
The source of the universe is ultimately unknowable, a
great invisible river flowing forever through a vast
and fertile valley.
Silent and uncreated, it creates all things.

All things are brought forth from the subtle realm into
the manifest world by the mystical intercourse of
yin and yang.
The dynamic river yang pushes forward, the still valley
yin is receptive, and through their integration
things come into existence.
This is known as the Great Tai Chi.

Tai chi is the integral truth of the universe.
Everything is a tai chi: your body, the cosmic body,
form, appearance, wisdom, energy, the unions of
people, the dispersal of time and places.
Each brings itself into existence through the
integration of yin and yang, maintains itself, and
disperses itself without the direction of any creator.
Your creation, your self-transformation, the
accumulation of energy and wisdom, the decline
and cessation of your body: all these take place by
themselves within the subtle operation of the
universe.

Therefore agitated effort is not necessary.
Just be aware of the Great Tai Chi."

I put a lot of effort into everything I do, most recently into striking that balance between strong effort and a relaxed approach. The latter did not exist for me for a long time. I still struggle with the whole notion of it, and tend to hope that my previous efforts have laid the groundwork for a calmer future. I am in a time of seeing some evidence of this, just in the way I have slowed down since the end of last year. I am grateful for my staying power, and for enough work to sustain and grow my life in new directions.