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Tao Te Ching Verse 8

The highest excellence is like (that of) water. The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to the contrary), the low place which all men dislike. Hence (its way) is near to (that of) the Tao.

The excellence of a residence is in (the suitability of) the place; that of the mind is in abysmal stillness; that of associations is in their being with the virtuous; that of government is in its securing good order; that of (the conduct of) affairs is in its ability; and that of (the initiation of) any movement is in its timeliness.

And when (one with the highest excellence) does not wrangle (about his low position), no one finds fault with him.

Photo by Cole Keister on Unsplash

Reflecting on Water

Water - that life giving and life taking thing.  Water, says Lao Tzu, benefits all things, and does not compete with them.  It’s everywhere - in our bodies, in what sustains our biological lives, in what creates economies.  It’s necessary for civilizations to begin.  It’s necessary for crops.  It has no personal identity - it just is, just like the Tao.  In this verse, we are urged to consider how we might emulate this pure aspect of the Tao.  So let’s have a look at the levels on which we experience water.

In my Personal experience with water, i use it everyday, multiple times.  When I wake up, I use it to water my plants, do my personal hygiene routine, to make and consume breakfast, and that oh, oh so dearly beloved part of my ritual - mmm, that nice, hot steamy cup of coffee.

That’s in the first hour or so of my waking.

Once I start my day’s work, I continue using it.  I may have breakfast or lunch with friends or colleagues.  I don’t always appreciate how water went into cleaning the utensils or vessels I use to share food with a friend.  Or how it went into cleaning the clothes I wear so I’m presentable.  Or those conversations around the proverbial water cooler.  OK, maybe it’s just the water fountain in the park, but the idea is that I’m together with others, and water is there, quietly being water in the background, helping to sustain my relationships with others.  

Zooming out and looking back in history, I can observe how water is the resource of civilization.  It provides crops.  Transportation.  And perhaps the biggest grower of economies: trade.  Access to it is fought over even today.  And still, water doesn’t care - it doesn’t play favorites, it’s just there, being itself, not judging.

Globally, water is the medium in which entire ecosystems thrive.  Just because it’s there and does its thing, whole food chains are able to establish themselves.  Water is like the canvas on which an artist paints and creates.  It pools and evaporates - always in motion.  Sometimes there’s too much of it (at least for humans), and we experience floods.  Sometimes there’s too little of it (at least for humans), and we experience droughts.  Even on a very large scale, there is an element of timing that’s involved.  On a small scale, we choose when we use water.  There’s a good time for coffee, and a bad time for coffee.  There’s a good time to water plants, and there’s a bad time.  There’s a good time to have conversations around it with others, and there are bad times like, idw, maybe 4am ?  to have conversations around it.  Unless you work nights, of course.

Can we see how water is a neutral thing bu