Chapter 18, the secret of the middle way, is based on the Tao. It is about living in the middle instead of at the extremes. For example, instead of eating all of the time or starving to death, it is good to eat some of the time. If you live at one extreme for too long you will eventually swing back to the other (extreme) direction. Just like a pendulum, if it swings 90 degrees in one direction it will then swing 90 degrees in the other direction. If you were starving when you finally had food you would stuff yourself.
"The Tao is in the middle. It's the place where there is no energy pulling in either direction. The pendulum has been permitted to come to balance concerning food, relationships, sex, money, doing, not-doing, and everything else." (T.U.S., p. 166)
There is a lot to think about here. I can see areas in my life where I am over-invested and other areas that need more attention. Learning to have balance seems like such a practical matter that it is hard to see it as a spiritual practice...but who am I to argue with Lao-tzu's Tao!
So my path this week is to notice where my life is off balance...where I am living in the extreme. Right off the bat I recognize several areas such as worrying too much about my children.
If you read the last paragraph on page 167 and page 168 you will see that centering all of our energies on the middle way allows us to function much more efficiently. Michael says that "when you spend your energy trying to maintain the extremes nothing goes forward." He suggests that we can stop living in the extremes by simply letting them go, not participating in them.
Please join me this week in identifying an area where you live in the extremes and watch what happens when you let this go.
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