A Simple Life, Unhurried
In the quiet heart of the Way,
Things follow their nature
Without effort.
Learn to want less
Trade tangled longings for plain ones:
A warm hearth, a clear sky, the breath of now.
Simplicity calms desire—
Fame and disgrace become the same,
Success and failure
Lose their emotional power.
Life, unhurried, watches
As the sun sets, the moon rises
And seasons turn.
Wisdom knows when enough is enough.
Flock and Moon in Blue
Original sold. Print available, Contact Rod (rod@herondance.org).
A life lived in harmony with the Tao is a simple life. A simple life requires discipline and focus – the constant abandoning of unimportant things to focus on the important. In our homes, we seek to live with a minimum of clutter. In our thoughts, we seek to remove clutter from our minds. We tend, in a culture of trivial preoccupations, to accumulate in our minds meaningless thoughts and desires.
Simplicity comes from living in harmony with nature. When we succumb to the frantic pace of modern life, the quality of our lives deteriorates from needless complexity.
. . .
Journal Note
What activities and desires that are now part of my life actually reduce my quality of my life, or add nothing to it? Which ones detract or distract me from a relationship with nature?
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