I feel that power right now in my beautiful surroundings. The sound of mynah birds fill the air as the ocean rolls in undulating waves, much like the heartbeat of our planet. The colors are absolutely breathtaking: the bright blue sky; the shimmering green palm trees, sea grass, and ficus plants; the dreamy oranges and purples mixing in the distant clouds; and topping it all off, a rainbow that appears to be connecting the nearby island of Lanai with my front window.
When words appear on my blank sheets of paper, I’m awash with bewildering waves of pleasure at how I’m being used by an invisible Source. I know that I’ll soon be in the ocean, propelling myself along the shoreline, looking down at the creatures playfully moving about in the salty water and wondering where they sleep. How do they get here? How can they breathe without air? Do they ever stop moving? Will they be here after I’m gone? And then I’ll emerge from the ocean and walk along the sand, feeling the sun on my body and questioning how it stays up there, how we keep moving around it while spinning once every 24 hours, why the ocean doesn’t tip upside down while the whole planet is turning over and over, and if the stars and the universe itself will ever end.
The reason it’s crucial to have a sense of awe is because it helps loosen the ego’s hold on your thinking. You can then know that there’s something great and enduring that animates all of existence. Being in awe of that something staves off disasters because you have no fear of worldly conditions. You’re kept grounded in the otherworldly power that manifests a trillion miracles a second, all of which are oblivious to your ego.
The 72nd verse of the Tao Te Ching also asks you to accept yourself and your individual concerns. With three very emphatic suggestions, Lao-tzu tells you to avoid self-limits, accept your body as a perfect creation, and allow your life to unfold in accordance with its own nature.
I love the metaphor of nature as a guide to sagelike acceptance. In fact, throughout the 81 verses, Lao-tzu emphasizes being in harmony with the natural world, telling you that’s where you connect with the Tao. As Meister Eckhart, a 13th-century Catholic monk and scholar, put it: “God created all things in such a way that they are not outside himself, as ignorant people falsely imagine. Rather, all creatures flow outward, but nonetheless remain within God.”
And in John 15:4–5, the Bible advises you to “stay joined to me, and I will stay joined to you. Just as a branch cannot produce fruit unless it stays joined to the vine, you cannot produce fruit unless you stay joined to me. I am the vine, and you are the branches.”
Learn about the Tao by being in perfect harmony with the environment. Think of trees, which endure rain, snow, cold, and wind—and when the harsh times arrive, they wait with the forbearance of being true to their inner selves. As Deng Ming-Dao writes in 365 Tao: Daily Meditations: “They stand, and they wait, the power of their growth apparently dormant. But inside, a burgeoning is building imperceptibly . . . neither bad fortune nor good fortune will alter what they are. We should be the same way.”
In order to do so, we must accept ourselves as being a part of the 10,000 things. And we must love that same burgeoning, imperceptible inner nature that will bear fruit. Or, as Lao-tzu concludes this verse, “He prefers what is within to what is without.”
Love yourself, make no show of yourself, and quietly remain in awe and acceptance. Here are some suggestions on how to make this your reality:
See the miraculous in
Change your view of the world to one of awe and bewilderment. Rather than looking for miracles, shift to seeing everything as miraculous. By being in a state of awe, you won’t be able to mentally experience boredom or disappointment. Try seeing the invisible Tao flowing through and supporting everyone and everything: A rainstorm becomes a miraculous event, the lightning a fascinating display of electrical fireworks, the thunder a booming reminder of the invisible power of nature. Live the mystery by beginning to perceive what average eyes fail to notice.
Focus on loving the life you have now in the body you’ve got!
Tell yourself that you love everything about the physical shell you’ve incarnated into. Affirm: My body is perfect, born at precisely the right time, and this is the perfect age now. I accept myself as I am. I accept my role in the perfection of this universe at this time. I surrender to the natural course of my body’s destiny.
See your body through the eyes of totally accepting thoughts and, as Lao-tzu says, “In this way you will never weary of this world.”
Do the Tao Now
List five natural occurrences in your daily life that you’ve been taking for granted. Then spend some contemplative time allowing each into your consciousness. The sky, some flowers, a tree in your yard, the moon, the sun, the fog, the grass, a spiderweb, a crab hole, a lake, a shrub, a cricket, your dog, anything that occurs naturally . . . let yourself radically appreciate
