The fool (2)

The Tao Te Ching is the fifth most-translated book in human history. Its enigmatic author, Lao Tzu, is often pictured riding an ox while facing backwards. Oh yes, he was a fool alright.

The way we were

It is devoutly to be wished that humans will be spared the ignominy of a return to normal. We can’t afford normal. Business as usual, often called progress, is what detonated this catastrophe.

The myth of progress

We think we are moving forward but that is not all we do. We also move backward. The last movement in my Qigong series is just that—two steps forward, two steps back. Good long walks are restorative but they too return us to the place we started from.

Sage and saboteur

Ramana Maharshi said that progress on the inner plane is determined by whether we are thinking less.

The mind claps its little hands in excitement. “Now you’ve given me something to think about!”

Slowness

Inner progress is not a linear movement. It is a slow circularity, like ascending a mountain by walking around it.

Slow is good.