Sometimes it is important to just sit quietly, to relax your body, and to clear your mind. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and imagine yourself in a peaceful, beautiful place. Remain still and quiet, like this, for an extended period of time. Feel the breeze, listen to the sound of the water, immerse yourself in the silence. Let go of all of your thoughts, and connect with the deep inner peace which resides within you. It is always there, waiting for you. It never goes away. We just need to be quiet enough to find it. It is there, right now, ready to envelope you, to comfort you, to nourish you.
“A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.”
– Lao Tzu
This is true. A good traveler also knows the direction they wish to go, and they continue to seek ways to keep themselves moving in that direction, each day.
On the one hand, our Good Traveler knows that the journey is the destination, and so they strive to remain present and grateful, each step of the way. On the other hand, they are also mindful and conscious in their choice of the direction they wish to go, and they continue to pursue this good and worthy aim with enthusiasm, clarity, and drive.
“Time unused still vanishes, as if time itself is starving, and each day is swallowed whole, leaving no crumbs.”
– Elisabeth Tova Bailey
Treasure each day. Every moment of life is a gift. Whenever you can, whatever you are doing, strive to look for something to appreciate, to enjoy, to feel wonder about, to be grateful for. Our lives are enriched by the quality of our mindful attention.
“The child learns to speak, not because it has learned teachers, but because it lives with those who know how to speak.”
– Lao Tzu
The great Taoist Master Lao Tzu was telling us not only how a child learns to speak, but he was also giving us a powerful metaphor for so many other things. The human being learns the Tao in this same way: not from great teachers, but from living among those who already know the Tao. This is also how each one of us learns how to truly live well: how to think, act, and speak with compassion and common sense, how to create things of value, how to find inner calm and peace, how to cultivate healthy relationships with others, how to live with enthusiasm and authenticity, and how to give and receive help and knowledge with an open heart. We learn these things from living among those who already know how to do them. And, perhaps most importantly of all, the human heart learns how to love and to be loved, in this manner, as well. We learn this by living in a family, in a community, and in a society that already understands how to do this. Once we realize this fact, it becomes incredibly clear why it is of such vital importance for each one of us to strive to preserve and cultivate these values in our own lives, in our own families, and in our own communities. We each form a vital link in the chain toward a better and more beautiful world.
“When you do not dwell in ego, then things will of themselves reveal their forms to you. Your movement will be like that of water, your stillness like that of a mirror, your responses like those of an echo.”