Yi. Change, easy. The symbol for change is a picture of a swiftly moving lizard, the image of change.
Those who follow Tao spend a lifetime studying change.
The ancients observed that all life changed. Grain grew from seeds to tall, full plants. Deer were born in the spring and gradually learned to walk on their own. Human beings grew old and died, yet the generations succeeded one another.
Observing the continual alterations of birth and death, the ancients therefore said Tao had no fixed points; its only constant was change.
When aomething reavhes its extreme, it changes to its opposite. Just after a rice plant reaches a sweet fullness, it begins to yellow, wither, and die. Just as the deer comes to full vitality, it soon becomes old and passes from the earth. And when people reach the apex of their knowledge and strength, they inevitably begin to decline.
Thus it is that Tao is movement, and that movement is marked by constant change.
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I feel change in the air these days. The seasons are changing from summer to fall, with the hottest weather now that will soon cool into fall’s pleasantness and then winter’s chill. My life is changing, moving from being very left-brain oriented and working in the technical area to wanting to become very right-brained and do something completely new to me.
In the midst of this week’s Republican convention, what I see is a right-wing agenda that has pushed to its extreme, and will now be forced back to more moderate positions, or be forced out of existence. I think some of the Republican party recognizes this, but much if not most of the subtext of the convention is still playing to the hard-core right wing base. I think this is probably going to end up being a big mistake, and lead to a lot of heartache for the country over the next few years.
The Democrats have been pushed to their limits as well. They will soon become the strong voices that push us to the rebirth of this country in a new form. The strength and power of the Democratic convention was amazing to me, the unison of its membership astounding. The march on Sunday was another example of this; people with very differing opinions all coming together and expressing them peacefully, in great unison and accord. I think this will be the new direction of America.
But the old guard does not want to recognize things are changing, and so they will not go down easily or peacefully. They are bound and determined to drag the nation through “four more years of hell” as Teresa so bravely put it. I fear it will be even longer than that, no matter which way the election goes. If Kerry wins, they will make his life and his administration go through hell. If Bush steals another election (no, I do not believe he will win, but I think the election may be stolen again), then the right-wing agenda will be in full force for four more years, and with no chance of being elected again their extremism in pushing their agenda and stealing as much as they can will be amazing.
America is, for the first time in my life, a scary place to live. Not because of the terrorist threats, but because of the possibility my kids will be drafted, the disruption of our freedoms for the sake of “security”, and the determination of the right wing to control people’s personal lives. Economically, we face a diaster with rising health care costs, which are a big part of our jobs going overseas, and a huge deficit and trade imbalance. If not for China and Japan propping up our dollar, it would be in massive decline. The defense spending is out of control and still not providing what we need, with money being wasted on missle shields and being sucked into Halliburton’s (and Dick Cheney’s) pockets. Not to mention the increasing Bush family fortune through the Carlyle group.
Health care is also a huge crisis waiting to happen, unless we start providing for it with some sort of national health care program. Social security needs to be reformed. Government as a whole needs to be revamped to operate more efficiently and effectively.
My generation can’t make these changes, since boomers are so evernly split in their diviosion between right and left. The kids will have to make the tough choices. But as the national nightmare really begins to unfold, it’s going to be a long dark winter.
Just remember, spring will be here eventually. Stay strong and hopeful, love your family and friends, and take care of *anyone* you can. We’ll get through this change, too.
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