Fourth Verse of the Tao Te Ching:
The Tao is empty
but inexhaustible,
bottomless,
the ancestor of it all.
Within it, the sharp edges become smooth;
the twisted knots loosen;
the sun is softened by a cloud;
the dust settles into place.
It is hidden but always present.
I do not know who gave birth to it.
It seems to be the common ancestor of all, the father of things.
Author’s Commentary:
The Source of what you are is infinite, yet undefined. What you understand to be you is what exists here in form, in the physical world reality, but the Source from which you came (the Tao) is formless, endless, and the origin of all things that exist in form.
What’s important to keep in mind is that not only are you created from an infinite Source (of love), so is everyone and everything else, which includes your spouse (or former spouse), your children, your parents, your in-laws, neighbors, enemies, friends, et cetera.
We are all Divine Beings having human experiences. We came into this existence to challenge ourselves with the task of becoming aware of our own divinity and the divinity of all others.
We have made it extra challenging for ourselves by attracting partners that are best able to trigger unresolved issues within us, so that we can utilize that opportunity to heal ourselves.
Unfortunately, many times we fail to see the learning opportunities available to us and instead choose upset over resolution and inner peace (which is always available to us).
We exist in a place of limitation with limited awareness of our true nature. The objective is raising our awareness through recognizing the inherent loving nature of ourselves and all others and sharing our love unconditionally with the world.
When that becomes our intention, we align with our highest purpose and open ourselves to the flow of loving (the Tao) that’s always available, even when we are unaware of it, just as the sun is always there, even when clouds obscure it.
With our conflict, judgments, and upsets, we create the clouds that obscure our view of the infinite Source of all Light (the Tao), but the Light is always there.
When we are aligned with our higher purpose and open to our loving, the harshness of our physical world reality fades. When we can see that our spouse is simply doing the best he or she can as a Divine Being who’s temporarily unaware of his or her own Divine nature, we move into compassion for what they are going through, instead of reacting to their behavior with upset and blame.
When we successfully surrender to what is, instead of struggling against it, the sharp edges of our lives begin to soften.
Love & Light Ahead!
Michael C. Cotugno, Esq.
Conscious Divorce Attorney & Coach
M.A. in Spiritual Psychology