Number Twenty Four Trying
24
stand on your tip toes
reaching up as far as you can
forever
Lesson # 24
How long can you
stand on your tiptoes?
How long can you run
before collapsing on the ground?
How many people
do you have to impress
before you love yourself?
How many people
do you have to make wrong
before you know that you’re OK?
How loud do you have to
blow your horn to get
the attention you crave?
There is another way
From: 81 Lessons from the Tao Te Ching
Number 24 Trying
You can’t keep standing
on tiptoe forever trying to be taller
You can’t keep sprinting
forever trying to win everything
Sooner or later all that trying fails
Try to show how spiritual you are and you will never get enlightened
Try to show how great you are and you will never be satisfied with your simple goodness
Try to convince the world that you’re right and you will deceive no one
The louder you blow your own horn the sooner people stop listening
Let go and learn to love that person in the mirror
Or go on being a jerk
NUMBER TWENTY FOUR
He who stands on tiptoe is not steady,
He who holds legs stiffly cannot walk.
He who looks at self does not see clearly.
He who asserts himself does not shine.
He who boasts of himself has no merit.
He who glorifies himself shall not endure.
These things are to the Tao like excreta or a hideous tumor to the body.
Therefore he who has Tao must give them no place.
Isabella Mears, The Tao Teh King, A Tentative Translation from the Chinese, William McLellan, Glascow, 1916.
Number 24 (commentary) Aren’t we supposed to try hard to be better people?
You will never get enough of your father’s pride.
You will never get enough of your mother’s praise.
You will never get enough of your children’s appreciation.
You will never win your ex-lover’s forgiveness.
You will never win the world’s acceptance.
The harder you run, the further away the finish line moves. Lose the hope of a victorious finish. It’s probably hope for the wrong thing.
This is what you’ve got. Nothing more. Right now. This. That is all.
Learn to love it.
Tangent and Tool #24, Gratitude practice #2 (Reflective Exercise) Good ideas only get integrated into a lifestyle through practice. Without regular repetition they have no lasting impact on your life. So today, start your first ritual. Begin a regular Gratitude Practice habit and ritual. Find a time in your day where you have the time (less than 2 minutes) and the space to do this ritual. It can be when you turn off the morning alarm, with your morning beverage of choice, commuting, at lunchtime, when you come home from work (if you do), at dinner, or just before turning out the light to go to sleep. It is a simple task. Just list (in your head or out loud) five things you are grateful for today. It is also a great thing for everyone in your family to do around the table (if you have a family). Or say them to yourself.