There is something so simple and yet so astonishingly revealing about returning to the source. It could be as simple as going back to the basic question that started the journey. In the words of TS Eliot from his poem Little Gidding:
“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”
The forces of nature are essentially creative; though by virtue of the dualism inherent in the act of creation (yin and yang, male and female, heaven and earth, positive and negative etc.) we may consider both creation and destruction as essentially two that spring from the same source. In between there is a kind of hanging together; and little cycles of creation take place there all the time. The laws of physics and chemistry that we observe in modern times are a realization of the same.
Harmony with nature… so what does that really mean? Words like eco-friendly, sustainability, healthy all spring to mind; to speak of just a few. Life itself is a mystery… even the sages of ancient times articulated the unfathomable with astounding clarity demonstrating that we as humans are not new to intelligent contemplation of this great mystery. In the words of Lao Tzu in Chapter 1 of the Tao Te Ching (Gia-Fu Feng & Jane English):
“The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desirless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.”
The word “Tao” is usually translated simply as the “way”.
The way expressed here in this verse is very close to nature itself; both original in source, mother and a gate to all mystery. Perhaps in homage to where we all have come from. To follow the tao is considered as to follow the way that is natural; that is the way of the seasons and the cycles of nature or birth, life and death. In modern times this can all seem very deep; in our air conditioned, centrally heated environment we feel nature’s prescence whilst maybe pretending not to or simply disregarding. We may think we are oblivious, though we all know that feeling when the sun shines on us or when it’s grey and cloudy outside our window.
Maybe when we look to find answers to things, maybe then we can look whilst at the same time going back to the beginning and appreciate the simple and natural source of both the question and it’s answer.
Anyway this is just a blog post so I’ll not try to over egg the pudding.
“Little Gidding” link http://allspirit.co.uk/gidding.html
Tao Te Ching for further unravelling (different version): http://www.taoism.net/ttc/complete.htm