Practicing Non-Ado

I read a passage from the Tao Teh Ching today that began a familiar reminder in my mind of things I tend to forget.  I find during reading that I never get much past the first two pages because my mind is so full of commentary about the subject matter.  Needless to say, I'm no master at emptying my mental 'tea cup'.  However, it does help me to concretize my thoughts about life in general, at least in the moment, if I just think about each page.  Consequently, I hardly ever finish a book. 

My greatest failing is not implementing what I know to be true, usually by letting my desires and emotions get the better of me, just like most people do.  I don't know if admitting that out loud is courageous or commonly stupid.  Anyway, it's out there, so I may as well proceed.  Perhaps if I write these moments of clarity down, something may stick in the brain pan. 

Anyway, here's the passage with following commentary and thoughts. 

By not exalting the talented you will cause the people to cease from rivalry and contention. 
By not prizing goods hard to get, you will cause the people to cease from robbing and stealing. 
By not displaying what is desirable, you will cause the people's hearts to remain undisturbed.

Therefore, the Sage's way of governing begins by
Emptying the heart of desires
Filling the belly with food
Weakening the ambitions
Toughening the bones.

In this way he will cause the people to remain without knowledge and without desire, and prevent the knowing ones from any ado.

Practice Non-Ado, and everything will be in order.

Now, I have issues with just about everything in this passage, mostly because I'm a stubborn woman... and that's the kinder way of putting it.  But, that's no reason for me not to try to tame my more tangible desires and get to work on myself. So, here are some of my thoughts. 

By not exalting the talented..... Well, that's a tough one all round.  How do you NOT exalt people? It's almost constitutional to exalt people in this country, even people we hate; not to mention the constant struggle for more than what we've got because they have it.  I hate the way people are glorified in the media.  I mean, if I see ONE MORE PHOTO of Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston, I swear I'll go postal in the check out line.  But, I realize that as much as I rail against the glorification of movie starlets, I do the same thing.  I watch people I want to be like,  thinking "oh, if only that were me...", professors, artists, writers, spiritualists, philosophers....I waste alot of time on that, exalting people.  We all do.  I'm learning a different approach, one where I'm free to think "oh he's cool.  Not bad work.  How does he do that? "  Then I can start to work on the action rather than wallow in self pity.   In the Tao,  you just  do.  Simple.  (wow, that's so Yoda.)

By not prizing goods..... Before I stopped to really analyze this one, I didn't think I prized goods.  I said to myself, I have my little nick nacks, but nothing too glorified.  I'm not a clothes hog, I own less than 3 pairs of dress shoes and I lead a pretty simple life.  But I'm highly territorial.  As little as I own, I don't like people messing with it.  I don't even like to share art supplies.  I have to know where all the caps are to the erasers, where every ruler is, I have to have e a clean table, yada yada yada.  I have to have my own music at work and at home, my own section of books, my own spot on the bed.... I'm horrid.  But if I could just loosen up a bit, I could stop feeling so thwarted about my kids lounging in my special chair, or the fact that my table is messy, or that someone is wearing my special fuzzy socks without asking.... That's something to work on.

By not displaying what is desirable.... I'm guilty, SOOO guilty of this.  Especially when I dress.  I love showcasing myself.  It helps me to control my bouts of feeling not pretty.  But it's more than that.  I display my intellect and talents the same way - woo hoo, look what I've got!  And if I feel unacknowledged, I become such a petulant child about it!  I quit at everything because I'm too invested in what others think of me. If I could only just focus on doing rather than having people see me do what I do, I'd do alot more of what I want to do.  Don't worry if you're confused, that's normal in situations where I'm talking.
 
When I die, I want to know I've lead a FULL LIFE, even if that's tomorrow or when I'm 104.  I don't have TIME for my own desires and wants.  A sage like existence is not one of apathy, but of joy of living, as an action.  Life is only good if it's lived.  While reliving the past, we cannot move forward.  By worrying or dreaming about the future, we can't appreciate today, much less fix today's set of problems.  It's the doing that people remember.  My family will not remember all of the times I thought about them, they will remember what I DID for them.

I will most probably forget about this little hiccup of lucidity in an hour when I can't have milk with my cookie or when deal with someone who acts with as much emotional disregard as I usually do.  But there is the off chance that this will stick when I'm feeling that meditative state where it's just me and the doing of something that needs to be done.  No peers, no Angelina, no critics, no kids, no Yoda, no worries.  In that moment is my entire life.

I'm very happy to have written all of this down in this particular moment.  I'll stop now.

Namaste
Thea