Who Are You?

The Tao doesn't take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn't take sides;
she welcomes both saints and sinners.
(Tao Te Ching)

I have just returned from a trip around the world and now routinely wake up at 2 am. Have you ever observed what stuff is going though your head when you wake up at that ungodly hour in contrast to, say, waking up on a sunny Sunday morning after 11 hours of sleep?  Who are you when you had a few set-backs in a row in contrast to a period when everything seems to be going your way? And who are you when you are surrounded by dark energy in contrast to playing soccer with your children on a beautiful Fall day?

Spirituality says there is an entity beyond these ever changing states that you can connect with. Taoism is ability to spot and weather these states. It is the ability to be serene in the ups and downs of life. We are not saying that you should be stoic or emotionless when bad stuff happens to you, we are saying that if you really observe carefully what is going on, you can discover connections that the ordinary folks just don't see.You can the rise of karmic debt as well as its payment, just as you can discover that "good" and "evil" are two sides of the same coin.

So who are you? You are the one who observes the yin and yang in action, the one who is open to both good and evil.  Dark energy may approach you, but it doesn't stick, just as you shrug your shoulders when you face a winning streak. Not because you are indifferent, but because you already see the momentum shifting while others are still celebrating. This observer may not quite be the Self, but wherever the Way is, the Self is nearby. Once you understand that the Way is where you are, you always have life to look forward to, never mind whether you had a good night's sleep or not.