Change Your Thoughts-Change Your Life Part 18 of 20: Living by Being Here Now
April 22, 2009 by dr. lam
The 64th Verse:
What is at rest is easily managed.
What is not yet manifest is easy to prevent.
The brittle is easily shattered;
the small is easily scattered.
Act before things exist;
manage them before there is disorder.
Remember:
A tree fills a man’s embrace grows from a seedling.
A tower nine stories high starts with one brick.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Act and destroy it;
grasp and lose it.
The sage does not act, and so is not defeated.
He does not grasp and therefore does not lose.
People usually fail when they are on the verge of success.
So give as much care at the end as at the beginning,
then there will be no future.
The sage does not treasure what is difficult to attain.
He does not collect precious things;
he learns not to hold on to ideas.
He helps the 10,000 things find their own nature
but does not venture to lead them by the nose.
The most famous line of the Tao Te Ching is “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Meditate on that single line today. We forget that to run a marathon requires taking a first step. To create a forest requires planting the first seedling. Procrastination should be avoided and we should plunge forward with our first steps in the direction we so desire by exercising the power of intention we discussed several weeks ago.
If we are suffering with an addiction or a bad habit, we need not promise ourselves that we won’t ever do that bad habit again. Instead, we compel ourselves not to do that habit or addiction today. We take that first step and focus entirely on today. We renew that pledge daily with ourselves. If we see a daunting and overwhelming task in front of us that bedevils us with its inherent complexity, we break that assignment into manageable smaller steps and proceed forward in a methodical fashion.
Also, we attempt to “act before things exist; manage them before there is disorder” so that if we live a Tao-centered life, we slowly move forward toward a direction we desire before a crisis occurs. We don’t allow a situation to become a crisis because we manage it daily with small steps moving forward. Sense disorder before it arises because “the small is easily scattered” and “what is not yet manifest is easy to prevent.” As Dyer says, “Become a master anticipator.”
Also enjoy the little steps that you take on your journey. You have heard me mention countless times that these blogs do not represent a destination but a journey which all of you are on with me. With the Power of Now in full force, we simply live each day (each step) with abundant joy as we move along in our life’s journey.
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This blog post has a lot of great wisdom especially for me, because I tend to get carried away with always worrying about all the details involved in something, instead of just focusing on the now and what I can do now and living in the moment. I love all your points, Dr. Lam! Totally great!
thanks heather. you are totally great too!