put it into practice

Nothing in the world
is as soft and yielding as water.
Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible,
nothing can surpass it.

The soft overcomes the hard;
the gentle overcomes the rigid.
Everyone knows this is true,
but few can put it into practice.

Therefore the Master remains
serene in the midst of sorrow.
Evil cannot enter his heart.
Because he has given up helping,
he is people's greatest help.

True words seem paradoxical.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 78, Tao Te Ching

We are sitting in lawn chairs beneath the blazing brilliance of the stars.

Crickets and cicadas are making their rhythmic throbbing sounds.

I was thinking of the condition of the human world and its impact on the earth.

"What do people really want?" I asked.

All was silent for a bit.

"Security," said Lao Tzu. "People want to feel secure."

"Love and understanding," said Jesus. "To love and be loved. To understand and be understood."

We sat quietly for a while.

A gentle wind blew through the pines and ceased.

"We cannot feel secure in our bodies," I said. "They go the way of the wind."

"Jesus has it right," said Lao Tzu. "We are secure when we are loving, when we are understanding."

"When we love, we move beyond our self-admiration and self-hatred," said Jesus.

"When we love we have no need for security," said Lao Tzu. "We are larger than ourselves."

The crickets and cicadas went silent for a moment, then started up again.

"I thought you guys were supposed to be funny," I said.

"Ask your question again," said Lao Tzu.

"What do people really want?"

"To be entertained," said Lao Tzu, squirting me in the face with a water pistol.

"Hey!" I said, sputtering. "What did you do that for?"

"Trying to dissolve the hard and inflexible," he said.

Jesus laughed.

We got up and went inside.