The Tao is empty
but inexhaustible,
bottomless,
the ancestor of it all.Within it, the sharp edges become smooth;
the twisted knots loosen;
the sun is softened by a cloud;
the dust settles into place.It is hidden but always present.
I do not know who gave birth to it.
It seems to be the common ancestor of all, the father of things.~ Wayne Dyer version
I’ve always sensed an energy surrounding us and within us all that I could never really reconcile with organised Christianity’s punitive, patriarchal concept of God.
I felt there was something beyond what we could see – a Divine energy – that I couldn’t accept to be a carrier of fear, guilt or judgement. This 4th verse of the Tao Te Ching seems to speak of this ever-present “inexhaustible, bottomless / ancestor of it all” that I always found hard to explain. One that is “hidden, but always present”.
These past few days I have tried to bring the messages of this verse, and its interpretations by Wayne Dyer in Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life: Living The Wisdom of the Tao, into my life.
There was one main experience that seemed to bring it all together for me. Interestingly enough, it was a funeral.
The Tao Expressed In Community
On Friday I was present at the funeral of a dearly-loved member of my hometown community. In many ways it was a perfect example of the infinite nature of life.
As we mourned and celebrated the life of a man who had lived a full 82 years, Jack’s passsing also created a celebration and reunion of hundreds of people still living their many versions and stages of life – from babies to 95 year olds!
The energy that surrounded the community hall (no church big enough!) and the cemetary on Friday was something I find impossible to adequately put into words. Similar to the “nameless” Tao.
There were well over 500 people in attendance, all of whom had been impacted by a single man’s life, and most of whom were connected to each other in many other ways.
I’ve attempted to write this piece a number of times because I would love to be able to adequately express the beauty of what it was like to stand in that cemetary, surrounded by hundreds of people who, despite time having spread them apart geographically in many cases, are still a strongly-bonded community.
As I write I feel a swelling in my chest that I can only equate to pure love – Universeal Energy – the Tao.
The community I grew up in and am still part of is special. Rare. And unending.
I wrote a 200-page history book of the town’s football/netball club, which involved in-depth interviews with many of the older stalwarts of the town and club (including Jack, whose funeral I was attending – he was a true legend of the game. Many say the best they ever saw).
These interviews exposed to me many stories of the generations of people who I had never known, but were the pioneers of the community I love.
And as I stood there the other day in that humble country cemetary, surrounded by four generations of my family and community (one and the same in many cases!), I was also surrounded by another three or four generations of headstones representing those now passed on.
I see now that the juxtoposition of the living and the dead, and the natural way both blended together in the Navarre cemetary that day may have been me experiencing the infinity of the Tao.
This community and my family go back further than I’ll ever know.
The community began with the families all coming from separate areas of the United Kingdom and Europe almost 200 years ago. The stories of many of these people live on – many captured on video during my research.
I have feared in recent years that when the oldest generation pass on, the community will disintegrate, as the 75+ year olds are still the glue of the community in many ways.
But I saw the other day that our community is based on a group of shared values that have been passed down by each generation who has gone before me, and they continue to be passed down to the next generations. The values may have changed to some extent, but the core ones haven’t.
This community and shared values are “inexhaustible, bottomless.” Within the love and connectedness of this community “the sharp edges become smooth, the twisted knots loosen; the sun is softened by a cloud; The dust settles into place”.
And the specialness of this community that overcame me on Friday, and that I find impossible to articulate, “is hidden but always present. I do not know who gave birth to it. It seems to be the common ancestor of all” who stood in that graveyard on that warm, sunny summer’s day.
I am overcome by gratitude as I write this. I am so incredibly blessed to be part of this infinite community. At times there are definitely “sharp edges” in the way of clashing personalities and values, but they are smoothed by the collective community energy. “Twisted knots” form and sometimes appear impossible to loosen.
But when the chips are down, all that is set aside. Even people who have ended up on the periphery of the community for various reasons were still in attendance on Friday.
For me I feel so blessed to have a place to return to that is like a safe haven – a warm, welcoming space of love and acceptance. It will change over the years as my 90 year old Nana moves on to the next realm, and eventually my parents too.
But on Friday I saw that infinite nature of the community I’ve called ‘home’ for 43 years.
It’s not a thing that’s able to be seen or touched, but it’s as real as this pen I’m writing with – perhaps much more real, as it will live on far beyond that of any material item.
And in extension of that, I see our world as one big global community, without borders.
I said in a Facebook post on Friday that “If the essence of the community of Navarre could be bottled it’d make someone very, very rich”. It would in monetary terms, but I now get that I, and all who belong to that community, are already rich. And we are the walking, talking essence of that community.
Just as each of us are the walking, talking essence of the Tao, if we just allow ourselves to shed the weight of the 10,000 things that get in the way of us knowing our true, innate higher selves.
And the more of us who do that, the more our global community has a chance to live in peace and harmony, despite our many differences.
My upbringing and experience of such a community is part of what gives me hope for and belief in the possibility of world peace.
As is often the case, John Lennon summed up my thoughts on this topic:
“Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for todayImagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace …
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will be as oneImagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the worldYou may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
It’s interesting. Each time I go to write one of these blog posts I start off feeling that I don’t know what to say. Then when I start, it becomes apparent to me how much I’m getting from living these Tao verses and then taking the time to reflect on that.
And then I could write thousands more words.
I took on Wayne Dyer’s “Do The Tao Now” exercise for the 4th verse, challenging me: “Instead of verbally responding, be silent and listen to your thoughts. … choose to seek the emptiness found in silence in order to be aware of your infinite self. Invite it to let you know when or whether to respond. If you find your worldly ego interpreting or judging, then just observe that without criticizing or changing it. You’ll begin to find more and more situations where it feels peaceful and joyful to be without response … just to be in the infinity that’s hidden but always present”.
I did this in a conversation with a close friend yesterday and my uncle on Friday, and I found it really peaceful. I’ll keep practising it!
Wayne Dyer finishes with this quote from and I will too.
“Wisdom is knowing I am nothing,love is knowing I am everything, and between the two my life moves.”~ Nisargadatta MaharajAnd while you’re living, stay as close to love as you can” (Wayne Dyer)
Keep Smiling 🙂
Louise
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My Tao Year: 1st Verse – Living The Mystery
My Tao Year: 2nd Verse – Living Paradoxical Unity
My Tao Year: 3rd Verse – Living Contentment