September 21st

Non-interference

I love this lake,
Basin of heavenly tears,
Tilted from lunar pull
Jostling its shore.
I love these mountains,
Stark rock outcroppings,
Sculpted by the oceans,
Lifted at some unknown time,
Isolated in a field of vetch,
Cleaved by silver falls.
A sentinel owl regards me unblinkingly,
And beyond, alpine forests form a cadence
To a distant moon.


The earth is overrun by investigators and engineers. The wilderness is made vulgar with the noise of tourists. We don't need their thermometers and saws. We don't need bridges and monuments. In the context of Tao, this is to violate the earth with human ambition and to crawl over the landscape like flies over fresh fruit. Instead we should simply walk through this mysterious world without being a burden to it.


Personal Interpretation

For too long we have tried to bend nature to our will. We have taken without giving anything in return. We  need not impose ourselves on the natural world. We can walk through forests without harvesting the wood of their trees, can reflect on the sea without disturbing its waters. To live in concert with Tao is to see ourselves as being on equal footing with all life. When we truly adopt this mindset we will find that we think less about our sense of self and more about the great web of life itself.