No one is rejected

The labyrinth I mentioned last week is done. It's at NCC in Norwalk. If you're in the neighborhood, I suggest you go there and walk it. Or find one in your neighborhood. Or just sit. In a comfortable place. Because I invite you to contemplate the inspiration for the NCC labyrinth -- verse 27 of the Tao te Ching. There are many interpretations. Here's Ellen Chen's, which is the copy on my shelf.

Good running leaves no tracks,

Good speech has no flaws,

Good counting uses no counters,

A good lock uses no bolts yet cannot be opened,

A good knot uses no rope yet cannot be untied.

Hence the sage is always good at saving people,

Therefore no one is rejected.

He is always good at saving things,

Therefore nothing is rejected.

This is called following the light.

Therefore, the good person,

Is the not-good person's teacher.

The not-good person,

Is the good person's capital.

One who does not honor the teacher,

Or love capital,

Is greatly confounded though knowledgeable.

This is called the important mystery.

So, the good? Well, it's ineffable, like Tao. And the sage, or you if being the sage is your objective, rejects no one, no thing. The sage follows the light. Everyone, everything, including the "not-good" is the sage's "capital" -- something of value from which you can learn. We are all here for mutual fulfillment. We are all here to help each other, teach each other, learn from each other. This does not mean everyone is equal. Some are good. Some are not-good. This is not a value judgment, not a better or worse thing. It's simply good/not-good.

But in order to understand life, we cannot reject people or things. In order to understand what seems mysterious, include and accept the not-good as part of the whole.

And then...follow the light.