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

As human beings we are born with with imperfections that characterize, differentiate and make each one of us truly special.  This different features should not be something that makes us feel inferior in any way.  Different is good, different is unique and unique, as mention before is special.  In my opinion the poem refers to humans excessive pride and lack of understanding that in most cases doing mistakes is exactly what we need to grow and better ourselves.  That is why the text is constantly talking about “accepting misfortune” and “accept disgrace willingly”, because it is more than okay to make mistakes as long as we accept it as a beautiful part of our true self.  At the end of the poem I believe the author wants to make mistakes general, not as something unique of individuals but as something universal of the world we are living in.  First we should accept and love our mistakes and our disgrace, after that we will be able to see the beauty in everything and we will be able to love the world with the good and the bad by finally caring for all things.

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.

“One” by Tao Te Ching alludes to the theme of divinity by describing Tao as a supreme being. The poet describes the eternal Tao as the “beginning of heaven and Earth” and the “mother of the ten thousand things” to demonstrate its power as the creator of the universe. Similar to Christians, believers in Tao credit their supreme being with the creation of the universe. The poet explains when one is “ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one sees the manifestations.” The mystery of Tao disappears when one places their faith in Tao and lets go of their selfish desires. However, if one is motivated by their desires they cannot see Tao’s true self as a supreme being and creator of the universe. Tao’s external manifestations and internal self are intertwined, since “these two spring from the same source but differ in name,” and adds to the mystery that is divinity.

In the poem, One, a reoccurring theme that’s noticeable is the Tao will always be something that cannot be defined through words, but rather actions. From the beginning of the Poem, the reader is told “The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.” No matter how the Tao is described, the names that will be used are just words that can easily be mistaken and that can lead to confusion, and can have no eternal meaning. In order for “the gate to all mystery,” to be understood, one must not try to name or describe such mystery, but rather act upon it to try and get a better understanding of it. As one continues to interpret the poem, one can come to the conclusion that the Tao is something that simply cannot be understood. Exemplified by the quote “Darkness within darkness,” the reader is told that the Tao has an infinite way of being interpreted, much like darkness within darkness. By attempting to describe the Tao through words, the words become finite, and that which is finite cannot encompass that which is infinite. These ideas all enforce the reoccurring theme of the Tao being something that can’t be defined through words.

“Ten”

A major theme that is emerging in poem “Ten” in the Tao collection is balance. The author is discussing whether it is possible to find a perfect balance between two opposing entities. For example, within the first sentence “Carrying body and soul and embracing the one” the author is questioning if the physical body and spiritual soul can be joined together and work in harmony. The sentence “Giving birth and nourishing, Bearing yet not possessing” is another example as to how there is an attempt to reach a balance. This sentence is talking about nurturing and embracing children but at the same time understanding that children are separate beings from you. The final sentence “This is the Primal Virtue” is placing emphasis on the need for balance within an individual. The word primal means first and the word virtue refers to a standard to which something is set. The meaning behind the common quote “Patience is a virtue” is referring to being able to wait for something to happen (patiently) without getting stressed out. If one is patient, then there will be a notion of reward in the self. The poem “Ten”, is placing importance on being in balance with one’s self and noting that, if one reaches balance they will feel rewarded in the end and express attributes of a good person.

The poem I chose was the first poem listed called ( Twenty- five). The theme in this poem appears to be the presence of a higher being. The poem is written and first person where a person describes a being much more powerful and indescribable. This person says she doesn’t know what to call it so they call it “ TAO” which can also be interpreted as “ Great”

“I do not know its name
Call it Tao.
For lack of a better word, I call it great.”

In the second stanza it describes this higher being as being far away but returning.

“Being great, it flows
I flows far away.
Having gone far, it returns”

This can be interpreted as how we see god. He is in heaven (far away ) but when we need him and when we pray he returns to us.
The last stanza confirms that in fact this higher being is a being that we follow and that we look up to as humans. As humans we have earth, but earth has heaven and heaven has god. ( TAO )

“Man follows Earth.
Earth follows heaven.
Heaven follows the Tao.
Tao follows what is natural”

Conquering is the one theme that sticks out from the message in this poem. The author emphasizes the ability to overcome challenges, especially in the first stanza. “Yield and overcome; Bend and be straight; Empty and be full.” We face challenges on a daily basis as individuals of society, and it is the norm to do so. But to overcome these obstacles is of the utmost importance. If we don’t, we prevent ourselves from becoming the best we can be to our fullest potential. The author also mentions being a role model that are uniquely recognized differently from others. “Therefore the wise embrace the one. And set an example to all.” In other words, don’t only overcome your challenges but yield from them and let other learn from you. But when you have successfully completed the overcoming of such challenges, don’t swank about it to impress others. The author states in the last stanza, “They receive recognition. Not bragging, They never falter.” The main point of this poem overall is to yield and overcome (Face and conquer obstacles), set an example for people (Be a role model), and avoid bragging (Boasting over your accomplishments).

To be humble is to be someone who does not think of themselves of being better. When reading “Twenty – two” the theme of Humility stuck out for me the most. The message that I received from the reading was, that one should follow examples from the wise because they are the most humble when it comes to situations and the power of non-resistance. One quote that stood out to me the most was “Yield and overcome”. This is where I began to think of the power of non-resistance and how one goes through challenges throughout their life, and if you don’t overcome these challenges then that stops you from being the best you can be. For example in one other quote it says “Bend and be Straight”. This shows that just because something bends it doesn’t mean it can’t be straight again, and I connected this to life and the challenges in it. Moving further, he then brings up the wise and says “Therefore the wise embrace the one And set an example to all.” This demonstrates that the wise are the ones we should all follow because they demonstrate what being humble is. They acknowledge that they still have much to learn, instead of someone who is prideful believes they know everything. A great example from the poem would be “Not boasting, They never falter”. Which demonstrates that they don’t show off, but they will never lose momentum.

The theme that stands out to me the most in this poem is humility. Humility means to be modest and unconcerned with one’s worth.  This poem gives off the belief that a higher being exists, and this higher being is much more important than the average person. When the poem states, “Accept being unimportant,” it is understood that the reader should regard themselves as lowly and of little value, especially when compared to world as a whole. The poem then goes on to exemplify this theme of humility as it states, “Do not be concerned with loss or gain. This is called, ‘accepting disgrace willingly.’” The author is trying to get the reader to understand the importance of not being worried about their worth. Humans shouldn’t be prideful, but instead, they should accept their mortality. They should come to terms with the fact that humans make mistakes, and this is just their nature. The poem closes with the lines, “Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things.” This statement brings home the theme of humility by saying that people shouldn’t primarily be worried about themselves. They should show humility and extend themselves to the world and to others with love, just as they would do for their own self.

Here is the image I created illustrating the resemblance as well as the difference between Felipe’s journey in Fuentes’ “Aura,” and the freed slave’s journey in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.  The y and x axes on the graphs are the same for both graphs.  The y-axis represents happiness, while the x-axis represents reality.  Falling on the positive side of the x-axis, for example, means that the character lives in reality, while being on the negative side means that the character lives out of reality.  The illustrations each show 4 points, each point representing a major moment of change in the character’s lives.

First, let’s analyze Felipe’s journey.

At point 1, Felipe lives unhappily, in the real world.  Point two represents Felipe finding the flyer for the job, while point three shows the shift of reality happening when Felipe first steps foot in Consuelo’s home.  Point four represents the end of the story, when he finds his happiness, but distances himself from reality.

Now, let’s analyze the freed slave’s journey.

At point 1, the freed slave is far from reality, and unhappy for he is imprisoned.  Point two represents his freedom, when he is first unchained from the ground of the cave, As he steps out of the cave, he crosses the y-axis on the illustration.  At point three, he tells his fellow prisoners of the reality outside the cave, and is killed at point four.