Distant ridges, far away clouds
All events come from a distance.
With a high vantage point,
Foretelling the future is elementary.
It is often superstitiously said that one who follows Tao knows
magic. This is nonsense. Superiority is simply a matter of using
one’s abilities and being in the right position. For example, a wise
person who lives high in the mountains and who is not blinded by wine, sensuality, intellectuality, poor health, or greed will be better able to see events in the distance than one who lives in a closed room, eyes on some obscure project.
A storm does not happen abruptly; it takes hours, sometimes days to
develop. Travelers do not arrive suddenly; they can be seen in the
distance. Knowing things in advance is possible with a high vantage
point. For this reason, the followers of Tao appear to know magic.
So how do you look at things? From your own perspective? A religious perspective? From a higher point, perhaps, a spiritual point?
I think how we view things determines a lot about our perspective in life. If all you ever see is the personal, what affects you directly, then you miss out on so much of life. If all you see is from the religious viewpoint, you are tied into the perspective of a particular philosophy of life. If you view life as a spiritual journey, you can distance yourself from daily life, but not be tied to a particular phlilosophy or way of thinking. That seems to be the freest choice of all, and from that perspective or vantage point, you will see more of life than others do.
It’s so easy to be caught up in the day to day things. It’s hard to find the time to separate yourself from that and take time to look at things more broadly. But, you will know a lot more about what changes are coming that will begin to affect your daily life, and you will become difficult to surprise. This gives you a calmness that others find astonishing. But it’s mostly because you knew what was coming, having seen it already.
Taking the long view from the higher vantage point isn’t always easy. But it’s easier than not knowing what’s coming, I think.
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