What is it about Taoism that has so captured my imagination? Initially it was the concept of going with the flow, of yielding to the flow rather than fighting it. When I first became enamored of Taoism I was way into whitewater kayaking. I learned early on, traveling through rapids upside down, that the river is way more powerful than I am, than any of us are. River runners who survive learn to harness the flow of the mighty river. Taoists hook into the flows around them, the flows of the universe. And they give a lot of thought to what they hook into, emotionally. Rather than react impulsively, they cultivate calmness.

As I studied the Tao, the concept that resonated with me most was the message of self-actualization through self-care. Self love. In particular, the message of the Tao that time in silence was where we best take care of ourselves, submerge ourselves into ourselves. By nurturing a relationship with our inner world, we find self-acceptance. We find the still point out of which our dance evolves.

Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.
- T.S. Eliot

In stillness, in meditation, our dance takes form. We sense what it is that makes us unique, and thus begin on the path of making our special contribution. We touch what it is that we need to make that contribution real. Taoism is about inner worlds.

There is also a whole nature and natural beauty aspect to the Tao. Tao monks retreat into the mountains to be close to nature. We came from nature. A part of us still longs for the freedom and peace we found there. I don’t mean to romanticize how hard life is immersed in nature. I have lived it. I have paddled thousands of miles in my life, much of it alone. But no path is easy. Every path demands sacrifices. Some paths demand the sacrifice of a life fully-lived. Some paths require we ignore the beauty within. Love, including self-love, is risky and many of us avoid it.

I read somewhere a quote that often comes to mind: “You have to fall in love with your future.” Surely falling in love with your future evolves naturally out of being in love with yourself. Without that self love, how can we envision a future that includes what we really want to get out of the gift of life? How can we build up the internal energy to make that vision real? How can we make required sacrifices?

A Taoist monk might retreat to the mountains to meditate, to live deep in nature, in silence, in order to protect and enhance her relationship with herself. A week or so ago I quoted the words of a hermit nun in the Zhongnan mountains of China:

Conserving one’s inner energy is the essence of Taoism. You need to nourish your vital spirit. You do that through silence.

That essence of Taoism is what resonates so deeply with me. The early poems – written in the distant past – embody a self-love and wisdom that the ritual and chants of the more formal forms of Buddhism that later evolved seem to avoid.