Forty-Seven

"Dualistic thinking is a sickness.
Religion is a distortion.
Materialism is cruel.
Blind spirituality is unreal.

Chanting is no more holy than listening to the
murmur of a stream, counting prayer beads no more
sacred than simply breathing, religious robes no
more spiritual than work clothes.

If you wish to attain oneness with the Tao, don't get
caught up in spiritual superficialities.
Instead, live a quiet and simple life, free of ideas and
concepts.
Find contentment in the practice of undiscriminating
virtue, the only true power.
Giving to others selflessly and anonymously, radiating
light throughout the world and illuminating your
own darkness, your virtue becomes a sanctuary for
yourself and all beings.

This is what is meant by embodying the Tao."

I think the biggest thing my embrace of the Tao has taught me is how to deal with my all or nothing thinking. I no longer fall into the trap of believing things must be only one way or the other. There can be a range or a spectrum for a variety of experiences, which has nothing to do with a so-called gray area or "in-between," moral or otherwise. When I accept something as being beyond my understanding, I open the best way to begin to learn about it.