Can you celebrate life and not cling to it? Can you give up control and still get things done? Can you achieve your goals without forcing?

These are all themes we find in the ancient Taoist key work called the Tao Te Ching, which was written by a mysterious sage named Lao Tzu. There isn’t much known about this character of Chinese antiquity, and some historians even doubt that he truly existed. But whoever wrote the Tao Te Ching has inspired millions of people to see the world in a different light.

Taoism deeply respects the passive, receptive part of existence, which is generally undervalued. By becoming aware of the strength of, what the Taoists call, the ‘feminine’ or the ‘yin’-aspects of life, we’ll see that effort and force aren’t always the best tools in the toolbox for getting things done.

In a previous video, The Philosophy of Flow, I expand upon the so-called ‘flow state’, known as the soft power of ‘wu wei’ or ‘effortless-action’, also described as being ‘in the zone’ when participating in certain activities like sports and painting.

This video, however, explores how the wisdom of Lao Tzu can help us go with the flow in a more general sense. How can we let go, and let ourselves be carried along with the river of life? How can we live more effortlessly, with less stress and anxiety? How can we live a rich life and enjoy it to the fullest, with minimal interference of the natural course?

The following five lessons based on the writings of Lao Tzu might inspire you to live life in an entirely different way. Here are 5 life lessons from Lao Tzu.

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Creative Commons (attributions):

Tai Chi footage (1): https://archive.org/details/bcmmev-Tai_Chi_Blizzard
Tai Chi footage (2): https://archive.org/details/linktv_explore_china1173734946
Tai Chi footage (3): https://archive.org/details/TheBronxCelebratesWorldTaiChi_201605
Lao Tzu netsuke: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Netsuke,_elderly_man_(AM_2016.55.3-1).jpg
Skull painting: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_skull._Oil_painting._Wellcome_V0042218.jpg
Skull painting (2): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mus%C3%A9e_des_arts_d%C3%A9coratifs_-_Vanit%C3%A9_au_cr%C3%A2ne_-_Jan_van_Kessel_-_Collection_de_la_Baronne_Henri_de_Rothschild_Inv.25794.jpg
Lao Tzu mountains: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lao_Tze_statue,_Louguantai_Temple.jpg
Tao Te Ching: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Changchun-Temple-TaiQingDian-DaoDeJing-0315.jpg
Marathon Paris: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:David_Bizet_-_Marathon_de_Paris_2014.jpg
Pinus edulis tree: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_edulis_oldtree.jpg
Food: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Egyptian_food_Koshary.jpg
Water: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fasting_4-Fasting-a-glass-of-water-on-an-empty-plate.jpg
Fear: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Bell,_Essays_on_the_anatomy_of_Wellcome_L0031951.jpg
Young woman: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Group men: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Constantin_Hansen,_Et_selskab_af_danske_kunstnere_i_Rom,_1837,_KMS3236,_SMK.jpg

00:00 0) Intro
01:48 1) Don’t force anything
03:50 2) Don’t overburden yourself
06:39 3) Stop controlling the world
08:26 4) Enough is enough
10:29 5) Don’t cling to life

#TAOISM #TAO #LAOTZU