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

In the poem Sixteen , it starts off with , ” Empty yourself of everything. Let the mind become still. ” (Line 1) ,  this meaning clear your head of all your thoughts and relax your brain. The author wants us to be at peace and to feel free. Further into the poem it starts to talk about how we grow and break from the same thing that made us and where ever we go we return back to the origin. We have to know where we are from to stay sane other wise it may lead to disruption and confusion. “With an open mind, you will be openhearted. Being openhearted, you will act royally.” In this verse here its saying that one trait leads to another , if we are optimistic we become more open to things and we act with grace we then accept the tao ,and we live by the tao. In conclusion where ever we go the tao will follow because the tao is forever and even when we die it remains.”Being at one with the Tao is eternal.  And though the body dies, the Tao will never pass away.” (Line 16) Once we align with it the flow of life becomes easier.

In the poem “Thirteen” by Tao, a major theme that seems to be emerging is learning to accept. The poem seem to be telling oneself to not worry about things such as mistakes or fortunes, knowing your own self and loving yourself is more important by accepting, you get to see the world in a better perspective. In the line “Accept being unimportant”, as humans we all want to be or feel important and everyday we want to be socialized with but there are times we feel unwanted and it’s fine, everyone has their own agenda. Also, the line “Do not be concerned with loss or gain” is interesting because we celebrate our gains and complain about our losses. In this view whether we gain or loss something, in the end we have to accept the facts and learn from it. The last line, “Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things”, basically sums up that being able to find you’re own self is important, it’s fine to make mistakes as humans we are growing and learning each day.

One theme of Tao- Ten is innocence. The poem discusses questions aimed at people who have knowledge, or people who have power, but yet choose to remain innocent. ‘Can you be without stain’ (Line 6) Without stain means without blemish, without sin, remaining innocent. “Can you be as a newborn babe?” (Line 4) Is there anything more innocent than a newborn baby? A baby that has existed his mother’s womb is as innocent as can be, without having any opportunity to be anything but. I think that in the latter part of the poem is referring to a fake innocence. For so long, women were supposed to have given off an impression of innocence, of ignorance, of being on the sidelines. And as much as they have been “Understanding and being open to all things,”(Line 11) they stand by and “do nothing?” (Line 12) Therefore, I think that this poem is asking of it’s readers, can you be innocent, and if not, can you display a image of innocence nonetheless?

In the poem “Four”, a theme that I got from this poem is that Tao is talking about the human mind.  The first line says “The Tao is an empty vessel; it is used, but never filled”.  Just like the vessel is used but never full, the brain can never be full of knowledge but is used everyday no matter what.  Another quote that contributes to this theme is “unfathomable source of ten thousand things”.  This describes the mind almost perfectly, as it is used as a source of thousands of ideas, feelings, and actions that are thought of every second of the day.  From the quote “hidden deep but ever present”, the idea that the mind is always available to think and feel but no one has a complete map of the mind corresponds directly with it.  Tao also talks about how he does not know from where it comes from and how it is the forefather of the gods which enforces my belief that the theme of this poem could be about the human mind.

Tao’s “twenty-two” is attempting to explain the irony of how many things in life work and that even the simplest things work as a double edged sword. One will never get everything he or she wants and so in life one must “Yield and overcome”, in other words one must be willing to give to get. People have a constant need for stimulation of different sorts, this is clear in an age of technology where people are attached to the pinging and ringing of their electronic devices. It seems counterintuitive to “Empty and be full” but when one is able to empty themselves of all extraneous and harmful thoughts, one begins to be full of positivity and excellance.  One may think he or she wants all different sorts of lavish possessions but Tao reminds the reader, “Have much and be confused”, one gets overwhelmed in possessions and will loose sight of the things that matter in life. Although at first sight possessions seem nice they lead to a life of meandiering confusion. Life is many times more complicated than it seems. Changing one factor of life can change many other aspects of life in unintended ways.

I think the main theme in this poem is to accept your flaws as a human being. Part of being human is having flaws and having “misfortune” however, the only way to overcome this feeling is to accept it. As human beings we make mistakes and often compare ourselves to others when it comes to “loss or gain”. This is something that needs to be ignored in order to achieve ultimate love for the world and oneself. People tend to feel inferior to others and this is something which will prevent you from achieving ultimate happiness. Tao feels you should “surrender yourself humbly” meaning accept your flaws as a human, and accept who you are as a whole. Then you will have the ability to “love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things”. Meaning once you accept your flaws you will then see all of the importance in the world besides your own desires and flaws.

A major theme that seems to be emerging in the poem “Ten” is dichotomy. Dichotomy is a contrast between two things that are represented as entirely unalike; it can be good and be bad at the same time. By Tao’s use dichotomies one can understand that viewing life in clear cut options with no grey area can be the cause of problems. The poem then ends with “This is primal virtue” I immediately think as this as the middle ground or the grey area that talks about in every line.  For example, “Attending fully and becoming supple, can you be as a newborn babe ?”, when someone attends fully they are being  there or in the moment. Whereas when being supple you are simply letting go. Tao then describes the grey area or primal virtue as a baby. A baby is a perfect analogy because a baby is able to pay a great amount of attention but is so pure and unburden that it’s easy for it to detach.

One major theme from Thirteen by Tao is that nobody is perfect. Everyone has flaws and imperfections that shape who we are. Making mistakes is part of being a human. “Accept disgrace willingly. Accept misfortune as the human condition” I believe that Tao wants us to accept ourselves for who we are and look past our imperfections. There will be times where we make mistakes, commit wrongdoings, get embarrassed, etc. Tao wants us to accept these moments and take them as lessons instead of using them as a means to hold ourselves back.  That is how one becomes the best version of themselves.

“Accept being unimportant. Do not be concerned with loss or gain.” There are more important things than being well known and winning and losing. Tao wants us to stop being concerned about what others think of us. “Misfortune comes from having a body. Without a body, how could there be misfortune?” Tao is reiterating that bad luck, misfortune and making mistakes come with being a human being and there is no way to avoid it. So stop worrying about trying to be perfect and just love yourself for who you are.

Twenty-Two to me meant being able to adapt, being versatile and that would result to great things. “To bend and be straight;” “Yield and overcome;” “Wear Out and be new”. I feel that you have to know or embrace certain things in order to achieve the outcome you desire. If you know when to yield and play the field by taking it easy and observing you’ll eventually notice the weak point and know when to overcome. I feel like the second stanza explains what you gain out of the first, what it creates if you can succeed. From my perspective being humble and respect/self-respect seems to be a theme in the second stanza. “Not putting on a display, They shine forth.” “Not Boasting,They receive recognition.” I feel that displays how humble and respect creates greatness without the need to step on anyones toes or putting anyone else down. All good things gravitate towards you and it influences everyone else around you. If you carry yourself with these qualities, greatness will come.

A major theme that seems to be emerging in the poem, Four, is the idea that Tao is something extremely vast and great. “The Tao is an empty vessel; it is used, but never filled.” Tao is something that can neither be explained nor is it within reason or understanding. It provides knowledge  and is perhaps so great that no one human being could possibly ever add to it something Tao does not already know. The latter statement is further proven in the line, “Oh, unfathomable source of ten thousand things!” Tao is simply brimming with so much wisdom to learn from, as a people. It is a philosophy that helps us to “untangle the knot”. And it is not necessarily something one can see or feel— “Oh, hidden deep but ever present!” Instead, Tao is a way of life; something not to be understood but instead to be lived and imbedded within us.