Tao Te Ching Verse 45: Letting it Flow

The Tao Te Ching for Everyday Living

Tao Te Ching Verse 45
translated by Dwight Goddard
Extreme perfection seems imperfect, its function is not exhausted.
Extreme fullness appears empty, its function is not exercised.
Extreme straightness appears crooked;
great skill, clumsy;
great eloquence, stammering.
Motion conquers cold, quietude conquers heat.
Not greatness but purity and clearness are the world's standard.

Photo by Tolu Bamwo at nappy.co
The Tao Provides

Growing up in rural, southwest PA, I was in the woods often. I haven’t been there in years, but I remember many things about it. I remember the broad, green leaves that turned the air cooler and made a slightly different color of shade. I remember the soil, and how it smelled so earthy - sometimes it was black, sometimes it was clay, sometimes it was rocky. But it always had this nice, full smell to it. There were hills and ravines everywhere, and it was impossible to find a flat place that went on for any amount of time. We had robins, worms, little bugs, we had deer, turkeys, raccoons, skunks, squirrels, the occasional mountain lion and bears.

My travels have taken me to other landscapes since then. I think the most austere place I visited was the northern tip of the Sahara Desert in Tunisia. At first glance, there was nothing but sand to meet the horizon. But after awhile, I started to notice things - little things that popped up out of the sand. Little hills came up out of nowhere, little bushes that didn’t seem like they could thrive there, sand colored spiders and other insects. Though it looked sparse from an outsider’s perspective, I found that the desert too was teeming with life.

Regardless of the landscape in which I found myself, I noticed that there was always some theme, some flavor of life that occupied it. Seemingly abundant or seemingly sparse; it didn’t matter. There was an entire ecosystem in each place. There was perfection everywhere.

In this verse, Lao Tzu talks about how things aren’t as they seem. There is perfection in imperfection, there is abundance in scarcity, there are direct routes through curvy paths. I feel like taking a look at a desert landscape can help illustrate this for us. The desert I visited had everything it needed to be a desert. And life, uh, found a way, despite the most inhospitable conditions it seems nature could hurl at it.

So how is there perfection through imperfection in our lives? Isn’t everything that we need there as well? Not only to survive, but to thrive! In our own lives, our own circumstances, we have our little emotional ecosystems, our little interpersonal networks, and our ‘lifestyles’ all around us, don’t we? We don’t really need to do anything, nor do we need to look very hard to see that we are supported pretty much no matter what.

Of course we have the power to change our personal ecosystems. We have the power to be dissatisfied with them. And we have the power to become content with them as well. Everything is provided for us to do so.

Could the desert change itself into a verdant, lush rainforest? I think so, given time and momentum gained from small, microscopic changes that could occur over time. But would it be necessary? That’s my question.