Paradoxically, peace

For June, a random chapter of the Tao Te Ching, from "The Feminine Tao" website ...

35

The world is drawn to one
with understanding of the Tao.

The sage journeys in secure, safe, calm peace.

Initially, passersby may stop,
seeking food and music.

Then, from the lips of such a sage,
they will learn of the Tao.

Seeking to taste of it,
they will find no taste.

Seeking to see it,
they will find no sights.

Seeking to hear it,
they will find no sound.

For it is in using its teachings,
that one attains understanding
of its eternal value.

-- as translated by Holly Roberts

What reassuring words to read at a time when I've been sensing so much chaos and anxiety and upset in the world; when it's difficult to know what to believe and whom to trust, and when not much seems to make sense.

I remember the afternoon a week ago when I left Dallas, sitting in the airport waiting for my flight back to Portland and being amazed at how stirred up people seemed to be, in a way they hadn't been the previous weekend. They couldn't sit still, couldn't stop talking.

It's as if a fire had been lit underneath us, or as if we were zapped with a lightning bolt. (The astrologers among us will appreciate the Uranian reference there ... an influx of high-voltage energy, unexpected, unsettling, yet with gifts for us if we can make the choice to take advantage of them.)

I've been sleeping very well since I returned home, with dreams unlike what I'm used to, with lots of movement and people in them. Some of the dreams are unsettling, and yet they feel "right", with a somehow orderly flow to them, as if something's being adjusted or healed inside of me. Then I wake up feeling rested, yet at the same time panicky, sometimes with a feeling of impending doom. I tell myself, "just get up and start moving"; and once I do, I usually feel more empowered and grounded, although I'm aware of an underlying sense of heaviness and depression that's there most of the time.

I suspect it has to do with the fact that I'm on the verge of making a major leap, a quantum leap; and in fact, we are all doing so, individually and collectively. No wonder things feel stirred up. I think we're doing damned well with it, to be honest. Time for a little pat on the back, and definitely time for us to take care of ourselves, in big ways and small, as we prepare for take-off.

Comments

[Sharon]

The is such a timely post for me tonight. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who has been feeling unsettled and panicky. Things are stirred up, right down to the local level for me. Leap? I feel like I've been pushed. The result is the same ~ take-off. And you're right about taking care of ourselves. We need to be ready for what comes next.