from the Stephen Mitchell translation of the Tao te Ching
I keep this book next to my Mac, and look at it anytime I'm troubled
it's all very old news, waiting with infinite patience for us to hear it

#38
When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.
When goodness is lost, there is morality.
When morality is lost, there is ritual.
Ritual is the husk of true faith,
the beginning of chaos.

#29
Do you want to improve the world?
I don't think it can be done.

The world is sacred.
It can't be improved.
If you tamper with it, you'll ruin it.
If you treat it like an object, you'll lose it.

The Master sees things as they are,
without trying to control them.
She lets them go their own way,
and resides at the center of the circle.

#20
Other people have a purpose;
I alone don't know.
I drift like a wave on the ocean,
I blow as aimless as the wind.

#15
Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?

The Master doesn't seek fulfillment.
Not seeking, not expecting,
she is present, and can welcome all things

#74
If you realize that all things change,
there is nothing that you will try to hold on to.
If you aren't afraid of dying,
there is nothing you can't acheive

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