Gravity and Calm
Tao Te Ching – Laozi
Gravity is the Root of Levity,
Of all that is Light.
Calm is Master of the Rash,
Of Impulse.
The Taoist when traveling
Never strays far
From the Baggage Cart,
Sees beyond the Finest Palace.
There is no remedy
For the Lord of a Myriad Chariots,
Who makes Light
Of All-under-Heaven.
Levity loses the Root.
Rashness forfeits the Mastery.
Here we have a passage written by a man known only as “Old Master.” Our familiarity with the Tao Te Ching is generally through some sort of pop culture, either a quotable passage in a film, or some shallow influence on a video game. Yet, there is much depth the be unpacked from the words of a hermit that lived many thousand years ago. It is impossible for such a man to have been much different than we whom live in the present day. We simply have way more to distract us in terms of flickering lights, or fine foods delivered to our palaces. Our Myriad Chariots have grown only more innumerable, and they transport us further away from the seriousness of life.
Gravity is the Root of Levity is meant to remind us of how to approach your life with a seriousness and solemnity that it deserves. I’ve personally been a fool that simply wanted to live my life in levity, making light of serious matters and lacking the relevant respect in times of importance. An ill-timed, cruel hearted joke does nothing but to entertain myself and not to improve anything at all. I’ve rather walked away from situations I could have treated with more import, to find a solution wherein I had all the world to gain, yet I preferred an easier life.
Living a rash life, acting without carefully considering the consequences, has been my modus operandi for many years, and I have little to show for it. Rashness doesn’t just mean acting with extremity, it simultaneously means to not act without respect to the outcome. Often times I would simply not act, out of a desire for comfort, out of a desire to be without conflict, to live out the punchline of a life I no longer took seriously. In hindsight, I never asked “Who made a joke out of my life?” Perhaps I was afraid the answer was me.
Of course, this does not imply to be without wit. All my cleverness could have been far more constructive with a more serious approach to any given scenario. When we use our wit in combination with seriousness, we begin to demonstrate our true wisdom. One mustn’t make light of everything. Nor am I implying that one must be totally without humor. In my humble opinion, being utterly humorless wouldn’t be living at all.