Things As They Are.
Maybe I should post this were everyone can read it but I just wanted to see if it worked :-)
This is a taoist principle I thought I'd try to explain here, I don't know if you find it interesting or worth knowing about, or if it has any relevance here in the training, but still.
Let's begin with a story as they explain better than I could.
Hui-tse said to Chuang-tse: "I have a big tree no one can chop up to timber. The branches and the stem are bent and hardy, knotty and full of irregularities. No master builder would even want to look at it. It is the same with your teachings: useless and worthless. That is why no one notices them." ... Chuang-tse replied: "You complain that your tree does not have any value as timber. But you could use the shade it gives, rest under its protective branches and walk below it, admire its individuality and appearance. Since it walks no risk of being cut down, what would threat its existence? To you it is only worthless because you want to make it into something else and not use it in the right way."
Everything has its place and use, and this applies to people too. When you know and respect your true nature you know were you belong; and were you do not belong. Some people tries to force a round piece of wood into a square hole. The 'learned' science persons will try to figure out and calculate why only a round piece will fit into a round hole. The wise man will know it and respect it and not try to force it into a triangle hole. It does not really matter why they won't fit in any other place, they simply are as they are; it is their nature.
It is not a big shame for a fish not to live in a tree and of course birds try to stay above the surface of the water as much as possible. But with us humans it is different; we have such a big brain, we are above all other animals because of it, but still we keep forcing things without realizing or respecting what we are. Since we know how far away the moon is, why shouldn't we cut down all the rainforests in the world for wood to use for toothpicks or such? Like Tigger in Winnie the Pooh :-) He does not know any limits which can be really unhealthy sometimes.
Weaknesses are strength as long as you acknowledge their existence. When you do so you can work with them instead of against them and eventually realize that they are strengths.
"Why does the birds fly south when winter comes?"
Science: "Instinct"
Which means they really have no clue. But we do not need to know, do we? Trying to figure out will only lead to even more questions like this, and even more meaningless answers.
Accept who and what you are, acknowledge your weaknesses and do not force life. No pun intended. Just live.
Forcing is what leads to bitterness, IMHO.
And, now if you have not fallen asleep reading this I have a little story for ya:
"Once there was a man who hated his shadow and his footprints.
He started running to get away from them. But the sun shone, casting his shadow on the ground and his footprints were clearly visible. So he ran faster. And faster. Finally he dropped down dead from, exhaustion.
Had he found a tree and rested in the shade of it he would not see his own shadow, and he would not have left any footprints."
These guys really liked resting in the shade of trees. Like me. Wise :-)
Ronin
Resting in the shade of trees is a way of accepting that you alone do not have all the solutions and answers, it is much the same with the force, you will only feel its presence when you stop trying to make it or do something that would allow you to feel it...accept the nature of all things and the answers will present themselves.
Shinobi
excellent post. now given this acceptance of the way things are :
how does one act if nothing needs changing and nothing needs correcting as it is all merely what it is? How do you find a direction and a way? Are Shadows totally passive ? Just a few things to think on :)
Mea'lorgharra
I don't know exactly what a Shadow would do but if things were so, if there was really nothing needing correcting in the world, why correct it? That would lead to a lot of Bother.
And even if things needed changing, it is not always your task to do it, some things work themselves out better and faster without meddling. This is wei wu wei, 'doing without doing'.
Resting in the shade of a tree. Resting, meditating, whatever. If nothing was wrong in the world, you could use some time to meditate for example. Trying to cultivate an immovable spirit maybe. Building up inner strength. Helping others. This could be a way or a goal in that case maybe.
But for that sake I do not believe in total passiveness.
The world cannot be all bad or all good. If nothing needed correcting or changing the world would, I believe, after a while simply explode with problems.
So it would maybe not be a desirable situation. But I don't know.
Balance. I find it interesting, to continue the taoist rambling, that they believe that in some time long, long, long ago the world was a paradise to live in. Everyone and everything existed in harmony. The harmony was so deep that it leaved no traces whatsoever for us to find, and so there is no actual evidence of it. There was no 'goodness' since there was no 'evil'. There was no fairness since there was no unfairness. But man's ego grew and eventually we were thrown out and the world started changing. Nowadays things are as they are, the world and nature seeming to go straight to h*ll etc.
But things balance themselves out and so, they believe that some day, probably not in our lifetime, we will live there again.
Interesting, huh?
"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one."
-John Lennon, Imagine. :-)
Sorry this reply turned out to be so long. I did not intend it to be. Oh well, what the h*ll. I hope I managed to make some sense though even if it is not 30 minutes since I woke up...
Ronin