The Long Slow Fade

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out. – Anton Chekhov

When called upon, the average man can often rise up to the occasion when necessary. However, it is the seemingly mundane course of life that can beat one down and cause one to go into a long, slow fade. Is it not the wise man however who understands that every moment of this ‘mundane’ life can be realized for what it is, an opportunity. By being mindful, we can be full of wonder and appreciation. By realizing what is, we can act and destiny can be altered.

Shipwreck

Old age is a shipwreck.- Charles de Gaulle

As we age, we stop celebrating landmarks and start avoiding landmines. The man who never wanted to be seventy years old did not change his mind until he was sixty-nine. But what to do? The Dao teaches us that that all things are created, destroyed, and created yet again. The journey does not end, it only takes a new path.

Haunting Dreams

Dreaming men are haunted men. – Stephen Vincent Benet

Do you still dream the dreams you did as a child or youth even though you have entered the fall or winter of your days? When I say dream, I mean daydream, not those tangled, nonsensical things one may have while sleeping. If one still possesses those childhood daydreams, one is haunted by them. To be haunted by such unrealized thoughts is to be empty and stagnant. As you age, you do not have to give up dreams, only make adjustments to them. It is the dreams that can keep us going on those cold, long nights when the fire is down to its last lonely flame.

Stay In Touch

Breathless, we flung us on a windy hill, Laughed in the sun, and kissed the lovely grass. – Rupert Brooke

A great way to stay in touch with the Dao is to sit by a stream, meander through the forest, take a walk in the rain, or a million other things that can keep us close to nature. We often get caught up in the artificial quagmire of society or the relentless pursuit of knowledge. Put the books down and go outside. There is nothing else you need to do. Look at the vastness of the sky and feel how insignificant you are. Notice that all the beauty of nature has no signature of man on it.

The Useless Search For Shapes

The shape of the Dao can be most beautiful and alluring but like the shadows on a sunny day, can change dramatically. The only form that the Dao has is formless. We should learn from these facts. We grow old, we get sick, everything we come into contact with changes, we die. The only stability is change. To become attached to some shape or form is to wait for the 4:57 at the abandoned train station next to the torn up tracks where the train runs no more.