12h • General discussion
Return to simplicity.
The Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) uses a colorful phrase for simplicity: uncaved wood (often wrongly translated as uncarved block). Uncarved wood is an interesting metaphor, as wood in its untouched state is unique. No two pieces are exactly the same. We might be tempted to think that a carved block is simpler, as just a basic shape. But carving wood into basic shapes to make them simple is to confuse simplicity with uniformity and conformity.
The Daodejing invites us to recognize the uniqueness of wood that has grown in harmonious balance with its environment as simple. The effort to impose a uniformity, to enforce a conformity, to generalize and abstract — this is in fact the complexity.
Join the Kinship Cafe discussion this week as we explore uncut wood and simplicity in chapter 28 of the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching). Find the link in the calendar.
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Return to simplicity.
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