I was reminded recently.
.
.
A roomy quote by James Ishmael Ford,
The well-known Zen teacher.
As you start to walk on the way.
The way appears.
Many spiritual traditions speak of following a path.
This is especially true of the teachings of Taoism as we follow the Great Way.
Matching the Rumi quote.
The drawings it says.
A path is made by walking.
This was also echoed by the Spanish poet Antonio Machado some 2,
000 years later.
Traveller There is no path.
The path is made by walking it.
As Taoists,
We follow the path trod by those who have come before us.
And we also walk arm in arm with our fellow Wayfarers.
Are spiritual siblings following the same path?
We could also read the Zhuangzi quote as saying,
The Tao is accomplished by practicing it.
The path is a useful framework for self-cultivation.
But it can also become an impediment.
If we take the path as being something too straight and narrow that we can easily stray from,
The path is not a razor's edge.
A tightrope.
Or a high wire act.
The Tao is perfect just as it is.
With nothing lacking and nothing in excess.
Can no more stray from the path in its widest sense than we can fall off the earth.
This isn't something we need to worry about.
Unless,
Of course,
You are a flat earther.
As Liu Xisheng said in his commentary on the Dadajing.
The Great Way is like a broad avenue.
A broad avenue is smooth and easy to travel on.
And no one can fail to reach their destination.
Because it is straight and broad,
Don't worry about minor detours.
Our path might seem straight at times.
Life may be going along smoothly.
And we may feel as though we are covering lots of ground.
In a short period of time.
It may seem long and winding.
It may form switchbacks like a mountain trail.
For every mile walked.
We may gain little elevation.
Life's inevitable challenges may make us feel as though we've lost a step.
Or fallen behind.
Fortunately,
Life is not a race to the end.
If it were,
We'd all have already lost.
We're still here.
We may forget from time to time.
That we are walking on the path at all.
Feeling lost in the thickets of habitual patterns of behavior.
And elusive thoughts.
But as soon as we return to ourselves.
Return to the reality of the present.
We realize we were always on the path.
We have never left it.
We might have gotten caught up in a minor detour on that broad avenue.
We may have gotten lost in our smartphones,
Or we may have started window shopping and forgotten where we are going.
Despite all the twists and turns our path may have taken.
We were always on that broad avenue of the Great Tao.
We can forget the past.
Forget ourselves,
And forget our own lives.
But as soon as we remember.
You're right back on it.
We never really left.
We will continue to walk this path throughout our lives.
Right up until we take our last breath.
Because our life is our path.
And we're all walking it together.
How often do we see the car in front of us on the highway?
As an obstacle that is in our way.
Instead of as a fellow traveler.
To see passers-by as enemies,
Adversaries,
Or obstacles in this life is to lose sight of that broad avenue.
To lose sight of the Great Tao.
Some of those around us may be fighting over territory and resources,
Or hoarding wealth.
Myopically thinking they can somehow disentangle themselves from this great tapestry of life we're all woven into.
But the rest of us realize we're all in this together.
And that as Ram Dass has said.
We're all just walking each other home.
Take care of yourselves.
And each other.
