5th Verse

Heaven and Earth are impartial;

they see the 10,000 things as straw dogs,

The sage is not sentimental;

he treats all his people as straw dogs.

The sage is like heaven and earth;

To him none are especially dear,

nor is there anyone he disfavors.

He gives and gives, without condition,

offering his treasures to everyone.

Between heaven and earth

is a space like a bellows;

empty and inexhaustible,

the more it is used, the more it produces.

Hold on to the center.

Man was made to sit quietly and find

the truth within.

For whatever reason, I had trouble focusing on this verse. Thus I have taken 9 months to come back to reading "Change Your Thoughts- Change Your Life". Maybe it is just the fact that a lot has been going on the past several months. It could have been retirement. It could have been summer and baseball. It could have been my life changing exercise and weight loss program. It could have been beautiful warm weather. It could have been the cold weather. Or maybe this is a verse that is telling me I need to understand more.

In life, it is not so easy to go through the day without running into a situation where anger raises its ugly head and a label then becomes the answer. The ego makes us the right one… the important one… the one that needs to have control of what is going on.

Everyone and everything is equal and special. The basic life needs of air, sunshine, and water are given to everyone for free.

So the plan is to take these 3 steps to live a more connected life:

1. Eliminate as many judgements as possible.

2. Remove the word "special" from your vocabulary....because we are all special, everyone and every thing.

3. Extend generosity to those around you.

There is such freedom in this verse ... without labels, we are free to be. That's when amazing things can begin to happen! Have a wonderful and blessed day!