I Alone Am an Imbecile

 

 

 

 

 Chapter 20 of the Tao te Ching

Give up learning, and you will be free from all your cares.*

What is the difference between yes and no?
What is the difference between good and evil?
Must I fear what others fear? 

Should I fear desolation, when there is abundance?

Should I fear darkness, when that Light is shining everywhere?

In spring some go to the park, and climb the terrace;
But I alone am drifting, not knowing where I am.
Like a new-born babe before it learns to smile,
I am alone, without a place to go.

Most people have too much; I alone seem to be missing something. Mine is indeed the mind of an ignoramus, in its unadulterated simplicity!

I am but a guest in this world.

While others rush about to get things done, I accept what is offered. I seem foolish, earning little, spending less. Other people strive for fame; I avoid the limelight, preferring to be left alone.

Indeed, I seem like an idiot -- no mind, no worries. 
I drift like a wave on the ocean, I blow as aimless as the wind.

Everyone settles down in their grooves; I alone am stubborn and remain outside. But where I am most different from others -- is in knowing to take sustenance from the Great Mother.

 

~  ~  ~

 

*  Many interpret the translation in the first line as "thinking" -- but this misses the mark. Reading the Tao te Ching many times, it is like a circle, such that once you jump in and begin following, it explains itself. The 48th chapter explains why LEARNING is such a burden: because "Learning consists of daily accumulating; the practice of Tao consists in daily diminishing." To ease our burdens, we stop piling them on, and begin unburdening ourselves of the 'Wisdom' (programming) we carry already.  

We set ourselves free.

 

 🙔