Before emptying, there must be fullness.
Before shrinking, there must be expanding.
Before falling, there must be ascent.
To destroy something, lead it to its extreme.
To preserve something, keep to the middle.
Although we speak of opposites, they are not truly antagonistic elements. All opposites are part of the same entity. Like a two-headed snake, opposites are two parts of the same whole. They define one another, as black defines white. They alternate with one another, as war alternates with peace.
Whenever any phenomenon reaches its extreme, it will change toward its opposite, just as the darkness night begins to change toward dawn, and the coldest winter is followed by glorious spring. Therefore, anything that one wishes to destroy need only be led to its extreme or crushed while it is just appearing. For example, the two easiest times to destroy a tree are when it is so tall that it is about to topple or so young that it can bee easily uprooted.
The same principle holds if one wishes to nurture something. You can prevent its destruction by bringing it close to, but not over, its apex. You can take a branch from an old tree and graft it. This is the wisdom of the middle ground. Followers of Tao change a situation when it reaches its apex. By joining their efforts to a new situation that is just budding, they attain perpetuity.
In order to contract a thing, one should surely expand it first.
In order to weaken, one will surely strengthen first.
In order to overthrow, one will surely exalt first.
“In order to take, one will surely give first.”
This is called subtle wisdom.
— Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching
I suppose I’m really very yin for the most part. I’ve been more aggressive and controlling at some points in my life, though. Part of Taoism for me is really accepting the feminine in myself, since there were times when I was young I really wished I were masculine in this patriarchal, male-dominated society.
America is very much at the extreme of the yang forces right now. I’m doing what I can to accept that and be amused watching the right wing extremists pull out all the stops and take us to the edge of reason, but, at times I still find myself angered by it all. I know the change will come and the fall will happen, but not knowing when or how, it’s difficult to put up with where we are.
So I do my bit to work with the progressive forces, lending what support I can to the progressive effort, knowing it is the next force that will grow and dominate eventually. But it is so young still, and growing quickly but perhaps not soon enough to stop us from going over the edge completely. I know it is too large to be crushed, now, though. The roots are already deep, but the tree is still so young…but I think the old tree of the progressives of the past would be proud of us, even as the right keeps trying to finally topple it.
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