Number Ten Breath

10

tiny head in my hand
watching my daughter breathe
the planet settles down

Lesson #10

Breathe
into the center of your body
gentle, as though you were
stroking a baby.
Open, take in the life force,
then, let it go.
Each breath takes you closer
to your deep radiance.
Let go of everything else,
and let the universe
take care of itself.


From: 81 Lessons from the Tao Te Ching

Number Ten: Breath

Use your breath
to connect with your center
Do this softly as though stroking a baby
Quiet the wild winds of this thought and the next
Come back to your breath until
the pool of stillness inside is wide and deep

Lead everyone from this still space
Act without needing to control
Follow the feminine principle within you
to the Gates of Understanding
Soften your focus and let everything in
Get out of the way
so that the universe can unfold as it needs to

This is the hidden virtue

NUMBER TEN

Bring soul and spirit into unity, they will become welded in the Inner Life.
Conquer vital force until it yields to you, you will become as a new-born child.
Purify the channels of deep perception, you will dwell safely in the Inner Life.
Govern a kingdom by loving the people, they will learn to act from the Inner Life.
Open and shut the doors of heaven, you will have repose of mind in active life.
Let your purity shine forth in all directions, men will see that you have an Inner Life.
Give it birth, nourish it,
Give it birth, but do not seek to possess.
Act but do not appropriate.
Endure but do not rule.
That is called profound Teh.

Isabella Mears, The Tao Teh King, A Tentative Translation from the Chinese, William McLellan, Glascow, 1916.

Number Ten (commentary) What makes a great leader?

Lao Tsu starts this chapter out with a great centering meditation.
It actually gives us a foundation upon which we can then take action.
How can we lead, without becoming a tyrant? He asks us to begin with ourselves. Without a base of inner serenity, you will be blown off course and knocked around by all the conflict that exists in this world.
Begin with your breath.
Softly, gently follow it to a quiet centered place within you.

From here, lead with compassion.
From here, act without needing to push for the result you want.
From here, marry your masculine and feminine energies.
From here, first look around, with a gaze soft enough to let everything in.
From here feel the life force within you, moving.
From here, just do the least you need to do to address the situation; go ahead and suggest, help, advise, but do not command or impose.
Then breathe, let go, and let the universe unfold as it will.


Tangent and Tool #10, Control-free leadership: (Reflective exercise) How much control is enough? Here is a hint, the amount of time and energy you put into controlling situations, circumstances and people who are actually outside your control is already too much. Imagine, for a moment, that you could trust the unfolding of the universe to address those worrisome problems if you just got out of the way.