The Gray... *Wisdom Dao*

The day is drawing close and time is pressing from all sides. The anxiety is crushing down, but in the midst of all the pressure, confusion, doubts, and darkness there is a sense of relief, a sense of peaceful resolve, and a sense of calm.

The light hitting the darkness causing an area to remain in shadows. The shadows constantly caught between the despair, anxiety, and loneliness and that of hope, dreams, unrequited love comes an area of contentment, peace, and free flowing flexibility.

The area where dreams are possible, and devistation is equally possible. Though the hour is long and time is drawing close, the shadows span the length of time. Not all people get their dreams, and not all people get the devistation that is present in everyday life, some are just happy being in the shadows.

To be kind and understand people that have dreams come true and those that experience pulverizing nightmares. To act to a person through kindness and not motive driven forces. To contribute to anothers life without claiming reward for their deed. The shadow claims no praise, and yet when it does feel praise it seems like failure.

Why does the shadow feel sorrow when praise is offered? Why does the shadow feel uplifted when a good deed is unnoticed? Does the shadow area cause a reverse effect of what every day people seem to be accustomed to? The shadow is an ever lasting glade of calmness, everlasting peace, and a place void of the human ego. To allow a compliment and become proud of the gratitude of another is allowing ego to let the darkness in? To perform an aciton and get no reaction but to know the person's day, month, year and time was made a little better without praise brings more real estate to the glade.

How can the glade be given more real estate? The release of the ego, and the self righteous attitude allows a good deed done from the heart to remain pure, that purity pushs on both dreams and nightmares creating the alluring landscape of contentment, and the peaceful residence of the Daoist.

The Tao Te Ching states "High beings of deep universal virtue work unassertively. They help all people yet people are barely aware of their existence." To hold a door for a person, or to offer assitance to another how is this against the universal virtue. To tell a person that which they need to hear to redirect their life, but offer it in a way where they themselves answer the issue, how can one not offer help in the world, how can one not have virtue?

To assist without seeming to assist, to provide small feats that seem menial or unimportant, can these really mean very little? If an action such as holding doors or loaning money is menial or unimportant remember the lessons of old. A fisherman that bought a fish and saw it smile, release the fish though hungry and starving. The fish was said to be a local diety and visited the poor man. The man was taken care of even though the release of a fish may have seemed menial, it had drastic affects.

No action is menial, no action is unaccounted for, all actions are presented with the same weight. Do an evil deed and the soul becomes heavy, do a good deed and the soul becomes lighter. Be wary about only doing righteous, too much of a good thing can be detrimental and considered dark, and dark becomes light. Light becomes dark and dark into light. A balance a life in the shadows of society, of humanity, and of your internal being.

Enlighten oneself too fast and the sage becomes the fool. Become one with thyself first. To balance the world one must balance themselves first. Keep a little self interest in the manner of money, but discard all self interest when dealing with others. Instead keep the interests of others close to the heart, and your heart will beat with theirs. To find a moment when one smiles they can easily remember the times when they helped another smile without any motive behind it, just the kind heart of wanting to see another smile.

I sing your praise and care not of my own issues. If I am depressed I will mention it, if I have the darker thoughts come, I will manage them. My road should not concern another, the only important thing is that the other people are taken very good care of. My life was over before it began, and now that it ended a spark causes a life to be devoted to helping others, through small steps at first.

To balance one self one must not leap around when on a thin platform. If one jumps onthe beam one will surely fall from that platform. Bridges in one's soul can be built with many different materials. Bridges of stone will span through time. Stone bridges can be shaped and honed into beautiful masterieces. Some can be built out of clay, gold, silver, jade, and even those built from rope.

The significance of a bridge is to go from one aspect to another, or to form a bond between two banks divided by the river. The material used is determined by the actions that pertain to the object the bridge is being built for. You would not build a stone bridge is your not planning to return through the same path. You would not build a rope bridge if you plan to constantly walk across a river.

Jade and gold will be destroyed and pillaged by those of self interest. These bridges you would not build for public show, but would cultivate them for your monetary benefit, stashed away for safe keeping, and for use in your endeavours to assit others, to maintain a life that permits the assistance of others, and to further ones abilities to assist others.

Just like bridges one must cautious of thieves. Theives come in many forms and from many directions in life. The most dangerous theif comes from oneself, the ego and self gain one contemplates prepares to steal away from the glade, threatens to darken your world, and allows the worms to eat your insides.

Most common causes for a theif to come is for fame, riches, religious, or to possess power. Beware of these theives, these theives threaten to make you poor, descredit your ideals, and to beat you down by utilizing your own selflessness against you. They will funnel money by looking like they need to be helped. They will claim that they need spiritual guidance to overcome a demon, but intend the demon to devour you. There are thieves that claim they want peace and contentment, but will look for ways to have power over you.

In the long travels of my life I have seen all these types of theives. Some have consumed me and left me to rot by the side of the road, some have destroyed me by utilizing my own weakness to see how far and fast I fell. Regardless of the theif, regardless of the issue, the shadows tend to allow one to become safe while they gain back their health, and their strength to climb out of the hole, to come back to life. The great thing about death is that once the shadows allow you to come back to life, the road you began on can be different than the one previously traveled.

One must travel roads with a light foot. If one walks with a heavy foot then they will not make it to the destination. If you are tired rest, if you are being chased take a different route, and if you are hungry take a walk through the wilderness where food grows naturally.

Size is relevant, and size is in the perception of those that look upon it. If a problem looks large, close your eyes and clear your perception, and the issue can then be defined as many small issues. A person that can still the mind has the ability to spring into many directions of thought in an instant as well. A person that can attack a problem from many directions will soon find the problem's weakness. A weakness can be exploited to form a resolution, a resolution means no problem. Upon forming a resolution to a problem, the problem is no longer a problem, from that point it is a matter of executing the resolution.

Shadow allows one to not be blinded by self righteousness, and not to be consumed by gain, with this area one may be able to define size, or see theives a little easier than living in the other areas. Build bridges of types that need to be built and avoid building the types that could cause adversity in the areas they don't belong. To find the answers visit the gray area, visit shadows and allow time to think the issue through carefully. If rest is needed release yourself from thought and enjoy the peace of the glade.

Remember no matter how a an action or plan of action is done, some things are beyond your control. Do not panic! Return to the glade and look for the opportunity to make a negative into a possitive, even if the positive is in fact the negative. If you walk straight toward a river do you not turn your direction to walk down the river, one who can bend will stand at the banks of the river and say it is hopeless.