I have taken this 12th verse of the Tao Te Ching from Stephen Mitchell’s interpretation.
Colors blind the eye. Sounds deafen the ear. Flavors numb the taste. Thoughts weaken the mind. Desires wither the heart. The Master observes the world but trusts his inner vision. He allows things to come and go. His heart is open as the sky.
Again this verse is an affirmation of what Lao Tzu speaks about over and over again. Don’t get attached to the outer world, it is not the source of our happiness and over time, if we follow only the senses, we will be overcome by them. It is in the inner world, from our connection to our Creator, where we will find the purest of joy.
As one who has experienced the death of my parents at a fairly early age (22) I think I began learning this lesson very early in my adult life. Nothing is permanent. People come, people go. Jobs come and jobs go. Houses come and houses go. Friends come and friends go…and even the ones who stay change and grow and transform into different people over time.
I now know that everything outside me is impermanent and even the thoughts and feelings inside me are impermanent. What is permanent, what I have held onto as my anchor and strength throughout the years, is my Source, the Spirit of God within me, the one
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