Tao Te Ching 45

True perfection seems imperfect, yet it is perfectly itself. True fullness seems empty, yet it is fully present. True straightness seems crooked. True wisdom seems foolish. True art seems artless.

The Master allows things to happen. She shapes events as they come. She steps out of the way and lets the Tao speak for itself.
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We’ve said before and we’ll say again – things are often not as they seem to be. Because we think in dualistic terms, when we experience or conceptualize something we simultaneously experience or conceptualize its opposite.

We can only see imperfection in the presence of perfection; one cannot exist without the other. Fullness cannot be understood unless we understand emptiness in the same instant. If we see someone walking a crooked path, then we’re assured that straightness is there as well.

Is there an ancient source of wisdom that does not teach us that true wisdom is often mistaken for foolishness? If it weren’t mistaken for foolishness, then it wouldn’t be true wisdom. And it goes without saying that utter foolishness is often mistaken for wisdom.

What would we see in our life if we gave more allowance for things to happen, for life to be as it is? What would happen, what clarity would we experience, if we stepped out of the way and let the way unfold on its own? It might be true perfection; true fullness; true straightness; true wisdom; true art. That would be something to behold.