Begin by seeing yourself as the environment, rather than as an organism within it. I’ve even coined a word to describe when life-forms are whole, rather than separate: environorganisms. Understand that you can’t survive apart from what it seems isn’t part of you—for you absolutely are the air, the water, the plants, the animals, and everyone else on the planet. Change your worldview to one that completely understands that when anyone else is starving or living in poverty, so are you. See yourself in all others and you’ll find the compassion, love, and willingness that replaces your belief in your uniqueness and differentness.
Lao-tzu was obviously distressed by the conditions of hardheartedness and indifference that he observed in ancient China, so he appealed to all to live honorably through the emulation of the Tao rather than from the ego perspective of separateness. And now he asks you to change the way you look at the blatant imbalances in 53rd Verse your world, noting how your world changes to align with the Tao when you live honorably.
Here are his suggestions, which you can apply to your life today:
Make compassion the essential foundation of your personal philosophy.
Feeling guilty about what you’ve amassed or wallowing in sadness over the plight of the starving won’t change things, but making compassion the essential foundation of your philosophy will. This is one of the most significant ways of initiating the growth of a critical mass. As that mass grows, kind hearts and actions will realign our planet: Like-minded leaders will emerge, and gross inconsistencies will be reduced and eventually eliminated. Mother Teresa was an outstanding example of how one person’s way of seeing the world can change the world itself: “[I]n each [person I see],” she said, “I see the face of Christ in one of his more distressing disguises.”
“Walk in the Great Way” by doing charity work or supporting candidates for public office who embody compassionate action. And vow to make a difference on a daily basis throughout your life, which might be as simple as refusing to join in denouncing others or categorizing them as “evil” or “defective.” After all, so many of the wars that currently rage on our planet are rooted in religious hatred that perpetuates the imbalances pointed out in this verse of the Tao Te Ching.
In the following excerpt from the Koran, the great prophet Mohammed tells the followers of Islam to practice compassionate action. You can use his teaching to make a daily difference during your own life:
Behave beneficently toward the neighbor
that is a kinsman and the neighbor that is
a stranger and the companion by your side.
He who behaves ill toward his neighbor is not
a believer, nor can ever be one.
One who eats his fill while his neighbor
is hungry by his side is not a believer.
Do the Tao Now
Make a daily practice of opening your heart in compassion when you see someone less fortunate than yourself. Give him or her a silent blessing rather than a thought of scorn, ridicule, blame, or indifference. Do the same when you learn how many of “them” were killed in any skirmish—rather than rejoicing about the dead enemies, say a silent prayer of love and compassion.
Live honorably; it “just [takes] a little sense.”
54th Verse
Whoever is planted in the Tao
will not be rooted up.
Whoever embraces the Tao
will not slip away.
Generations honor generations endlessly.
Cultivated in the self, virtue is realized;
cultivated in the family, virtue overflows;
cultivated in the community, virtue increases; cultivated in the state, virtue abounds.
The Tao is everywhere;
it has become everything.
To truly see it, see it as it is.
In a person, see it as a person;
in a family, see it as a family;
in a country, see it as a country;
in the world, see it as the world.
How do I know this is true?
By looking inside myself.
Living as If Your Life
Makes a Difference
In this verse of the Tao Te Ching, you’re invited to see your role in the transformation of the planet. Instead of perceiving yourself as one insignificant individual among billions of people, you’re urged to see yourself as the Tao itself. “We Are the World” is everybody’s theme song. You do make a difference!
When you live with the joyful awareness that you potentially have an infinite effect on the universe, you’ll radiate Tao consciousness. You’ll be like a wave of energy that illuminates a room—everyone will see the light and become affected. Those who were unaware of their Tao nature will notice the difference, and those who were aware—but not living as if their lives mattered—will be attracted and begin changing. So recognize and live your life as part of the Great Way, and help bring balance into the world.
In this 54th passage, Lao-tzu is advising you to see your divinity and revel in your magnificence. Know that in the silent space within you, where the Tao animates every breath and thought, your life makes a difference. The following is what he
