great works ii – 2850 jta 12:25-2:05: love letters from the world

A major theme throughout “Twenty-five” that I have noticed was the idea of connection, or being connected. In the first stanza we see that Tao Te Ching explain and define what Tao is. He says, “perhaps it is the mother of ten thousand things,” meaning that Tao is the creator of the universe and everything connects back to Tao. In the third stanza I quote, “[Tao, Heaven, Earth and the king] are the four great powers of the universe.” These four powers are what rule the universe side by side as seen in the next stanza- “Man follows Earth. Earth follows heaven. Heaven follows the Tao. Tao follows what is natural.” Tao is the mother of many things and, with Tao, 3 other forces (Earth, heaven and the king) govern and run the universe. Everything in the universe is connected to these powers, almost in a cycle or hierarchy.