New Year's Resolutions

1. Simplify, live more frugally.

2. Be humble.

3. Show compassion.

So this is Christmas

How should this Taoish Taoist celebrate what has really become a secular holiday focused more on consumerism? Another Taoist might think I should not celebrate it at all. That would be their choice.

I will celebrate Christmas with my family, the same way that most middle-class American families will. The same way we've celebrated it since I was a little boy.

We will gather in the living room around our artificial tree decorated with a hodgepodge of ornaments that we have collected over the last 35+ years. There will be grand-kids and too many presents and lots of picture-taking. Later there will be a spiral cut ham and wine and laughter, lots of laughter.

But probably no mention of Christ because none of us have gone to church in a long time. And we really don't miss it.

Happy Holidays!

Nothing Exists

“Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion.” - Democritus (Greek philosopher, 460-370 BCE)

Matter and energy are really forms of the same thing. (See E=mc².)

The people in my reality are made of atoms, pure energy.
The people in my dreams are made of thoughts, synapses firing, pure energy.

Are they really different?

Nothing exists except Tao.

You Can Believe Your Ego-- Yes, you can!

You can believe your ego and think that you can impact the world, railing against those who oppose you, hoping that your prayers will be answered, battling what you think is evil or wrong, lashing out in anger and frustration, struggling ever upward, making the world a better place, and you might succeed. You might. It could happen. People have done it.

Or you can be at peace with Tao, enjoying your family and friends and the perfect universe that you've been given, avoiding friction and drama, getting done what needs to be done, bending in the wind, keeping your nose out of other people's business, enlightened, understanding that we all are one with Tao down here in the low calm places.

Your choice.

Floating Taoists?

My friend, Doug, recently asked, "So that feather at the beginning of Forrest Gump is a perfect analogy of how life should be according to the Taoist? Just floating where I need to be? Hey! That's what the whole movie is about! No plan for today other than enjoy and be happy? Really?"

I always feel like I should start my response with a Philosophical Taoist disclaimer, "It's all based on how YOU interpret the Tao Te Ching". There are no rules. For me it's about enjoying life. Seeking balance.

We all know that you have to eat and clothe yourself, so you have to do something that will provide for that. You can farm, you can work for someone else, you can create or do stuff that other people will pay you for. That's the day to day stuff that has to happen or you starve or freeze to death.

Verse 11 of the TTC says that 30 spokes make up the wheel but it's the hole in the middle that makes the wheel useful... clay can be molded into a pot, but it's the size of the empty space inside (and what you fill it with) that determines it's value.

Ya gotta work, but it's what you fill the space in between with that determines the value of your life.

You Might Be A Taoist website

Just for fun I've started a new webpage called YouMightBeATaoist.com hoping that it might, in a less serious way, help others discover that they're actually Taoists.

Bird in a Tree vs. Bird in a Cage

Which is better:
A bird in a tree or a bird in a cage?
A fish in a river or a fish in a bowl?
A flower in the field or a flower in a pot?
A person living close to nature, in harmony with all those around them or a person living in a state where there are government and religious leaders controlling their lives?

One could argue that the fish, bird, flower, and person will all live better lives because they are protected and taken care of.

Are you sure?