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๐Ÿคซ be quiet, ๐Ÿค

Posted: Sun, Nov 30, 2025 12:12:52 PM

brain, i am listening! crafting advice, defenses or replies while i am listening to someone, has certainly been a way of life for me. after all, if someone is telling me their problems, do they not want to hear my a litany of solutions? if they are giving me feedback, is it not my job to justify, rationalize and man-splain their concerns away? no, no and hell no, not if i really am treading a spiritual path. sure, there is small tale and banter and my adventure in retail is certainly teaching my all about that. when it comes to speaking with my loved ones, my peers or in group conscience, i truly need to shut down the conversation between my ears and listen to what is being said, and more importantly how it is being said. some of the time, in very narrow circumstances advice,m=, feedback or a defense is what is needed, but any or all of that can be considered, after i listen to what is being said and allow myself the freedom to pause before i respond.
this morning, i have to admit, as i sat, i really could not hear anything, as the conversation in my head just went on and on and on. the topics seemed mostly random and without any sort of rhyme or reason. when i completed my attempt to reach the void, however, what i felt was a sort of calm knowing that i do have a path through the THIRD STEP and that i am on the correct track. as i prepare to get out and about for an afternoon in a smoke filled room, i am grateful that i attempted to reach the void, even if it was not as productive as it could have been. in the past, i would have just given up in defeat, instead of sticking to my guns and sitting for the full twenty minutes. life is like that, i may not succeed at what i am doing, but IF i give it my full effort there may actually be a reward for being persistent, just for today.

∞ DT ∞


Another Look

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Tao Te Ching

☯ The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao ☯

The Tao Teh King, or The Tao and Its Characteristics
by Lao-Tse
Translated by James Legge

Book 2

3) With all the sharpness of the Way of Heaven, it injures not; with
all the doing in the way of the sage he does not strive.