Daoism And Change

Daoism and Change

I had a lovely conversation with a dear friend of mine tonight, mostly regarding our old theater group in college and how's it's changed. I honestly think that one of the most beautiful (and frustrating) things about life is that it's always changing, every day and every moment. It's one of those things in the universe that never changes, as the saying goes. But we shouldn't fear or resist this change, no more than you should try and fight the force of gravity or the rhythm of your band (remember those analogies?). Nostalgia is one of the biggest selling points of popular culture these days, and it's not that hard to understand why. People want to feel safe, they want to remember the past without all the grimy little details that made it complicated and real. People want to embrace this illusion, but that's really all that it is.

Rather than that, I try to encourage people to embrace life both as it is and as it was. If we are going to indulge in a trip down memory lane, I believe the past deserves the respect of accuracy, not the glossed-over SFW version. Real life is always messy and nuanced, and we should never ever forget that, lest we start to gloss over the present in the same way.

But even more importantly than remembering and reliving the past accurately, we should always remember to keep the focus on the current living moment. As I stated at the beginning, the world is constantly changing all around us, and there's not a thing we can really do about it. That's why the most important thing in a Daoist's toolbox is the ability to Adapt. One needs to be willing and able to flow with the changes that happen as they happen, looking at the options as they come and finding the one most in line with your best path. This means looking past all the illusions and nostalgia our experiences have been coated with, this means opening up and seeing things as they truly are (or at least as close as you can muster). By doing this, change won't be so frightening after all.

The Importance of Importance

or, Significant Figures or, The Power of Perspective

One of the truly wonderful things about life is the simple vastness of the universe in which we live. From the endless reaches of the cosmos to the infinitesimal depths of subatomic mysteries, it is easy for many of us to forget just how much other stuff (read: not immediately relating to human life) there is out there. But for some, it is frighteningly easy to drift in the other direction; to feel lost in a sea of other people and other things, to feel utterly alone or insignificant in the midst of the much bigger and scarier world out there. But as the good Doctor once said, “I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important.”

In the grand scheme of things, the path of the universe will carry on regardless of what choices people make, but rather than looking at it like every choice is meaningless, we must understand that each choice still has a profound impact on the people around us and the world we live in. It’s a bit of doublethink, perhaps, that our choices both matter and don’t matter at the same time. But a good analogy would be the trillions of drops of water that make up a stream. Throw a rock in the water, and it will still continue to flow, completely unimpeded by the stone. Even if you were to create a dam and try to totally stop the water, eventually it will pool up and overflow, either going around the dam or pushing through tiny little cracks. The water will always flow onward, as is the nature of a stream.

But from that one thrown stone, you’ve disrupted and changed the path of countless tiny little drops of water. They’ve gone right when they were planning to go left, some are forced backwards up the stream from the splash, and some are even taken completely out of the stream and tossed onto the shore. And of course no drop is ever alone. The bonds between water molecules are remarkably strong, and the movement of each little H2O tugs and moves dozens more around it. This is the world we see, the world we live in. Even if we don’t recognize it, everything we do has a rippling effect on the lives of everyone around us; some on people we know, some on people we will never meet. Those familiar with the Butterfly Effect will recognize the potential consequences that even a seemingly insignificant choice can have.

I believe that it is best to take balanced perspective of both such viewpoints. We must always strive to realize that the world will continue to turn, that our movements are only one part of a much greater flow that exists far above us. Our troubles, our fears, our frustrations; these are all really not as large as we imagine them. But, lest we feel too small and lost in the river, we must also understand the impact our choices have on others. Of course, this means it is imperative that we always take care to try and see what consequences our actions might have. We must see the truth of the situation before we simply act on our first instinct (more on impulse and daoism at a later date). But it also means that we have incredible potential to improve the lives of those around us, and that others can improve ours. Just as the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, every one of us has the possibility of creating great and wonderful things from even the smallest acts of good.

Someday I’d like to write a book about death. 

Did you know that my surname is actually translated as Tsuba? In Chinese it's "Tan," but the character is identical. Apparently it's a very uncommon surname, and one of these days I hope to find a Chinese scholar or historian who might shed some light on my family's history. As an artist, I have wondered if perhaps my lineage had some sort of cosmic influence on my chosen profession. But, as the nature of paths go, it works out both ways. Either I was destined to love my craft from the time of my forefathers, or I was destined to blaze my own trail away from the intricate hilt carvings of my ancestors.

A moment of silence, in darkness, in one solitary breath, can be enough to open up the entirety of the universe.

On the contrary, preserving biodiversity is one of the ways that keeps biological systems from crashing and burning. It is true that extinctions are commonplace, but to dismiss them offhand and be simply satisfied with energy transfers is shortsighted.

i don’t really care what animal species are alive or extinct. as long as the total amount of energy stays within a biological system, then i’m satisfied. i’m an environmentalist, not a conservationist.

nature is constantly in flux. the exact shape biological matter is currently taking on is only a snapshot of constantly changing variations of DNA. extinction is commonplace.

however, human pollution should be restricted and monitored.