Dao De Jing CHapter 2 : Harmonious life

 When beauty is perceived by all,

Ugly must also exist.   When goodness is acknowledged,

So too does badness.

Thus, what is and what is not are interdependent.  Difficulties and ease complement one another.

Tall and short define each other.  High and low support one another.

Voice and tone harmonize together.   First and last follow in sequence.

Therefore, the wise person acts without action,

Teaches without words,  Cares for all without claiming ownership,

Serves without fostering dependency,   And seeks no recognition for their actions.

Because they do not seek honor,  They will never face dishonor.

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In the second chapter, Lao Tzu continue from the first chapter. 

He say that opposites are connected, cannot separate – whether in action or how we see them.

The world got these opposites working together. Cannot say one is good and the other is bad. They cannot exist alone, only make sense when they’re together. 

In short: Again as we grow older, sometimes u think is wrong but can be right and wrong can be right. So tiring right? SO sometimes just cultivate and do what we can, help people without thinking of returns, When there is death there must have life, example when someone u love die of sickness, u must know end begins with new life, because when there is Day there is  Night, Short and long, so death must accompany with LIFE. Not that things we dont see dont exisit. We really dont know.  Let Go and Let God.

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We more complicated than any book can explain. No one is just good or just bad. Both sides inside us, plus many shades in between. Our personality like a puzzle, hard to figure out. We can only see it through our actions.

(Example as i was doing charity for a village, many say is good , but i think am i also doing bad by making them so dependent and they lost the ability to be stronger?... so nothing to celebrate or proud of when we are doing charity but we do and let go at that moment, no good or no bad).

What we do come from a mix of things and reasons. Most of the time, we don’t control this. 

Many actions happen because we have to, not because we want to. We might just fall into them or get pushed into them. Sure, we responsible for what we do, but saying good or bad doesn’t help. It just makes it harder to change what need changing or support what’s good.  So if we can refrain from gossips, but we are human being is ok to complaint sometimes, is normal but we control and complaint less and less.

Also, what’s good for one person can be bad for another, very common. So, modern thinkers like to talk about ethics with numbers: what’s good for most people or what’s more good than bad for someone. Rarely got truth everyone agree on.

Usually, what’s good or bad is decided by those in power. They choose what’s good or bad for everyone, often based on what helps them.

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For Dao De Jing Chapter 2, a yoga poses that resonate well with its themes of balance, opposites, and harmony are:

1. **Warrior II : This pose embodies strength and stability while encouraging awareness of both sides of the body. It represents the balance between opposites, as you engage both legs and arms equally, promoting a sense of harmony and unity within yourself.

I suggest u stay ths pose left 2-3 mins, and right 2-3 mins

For Dao De Jing Chapter 2, a great essential oil to consider is **Lavender**. Here's why:

1. **Balance and Harmony**: Lavender is known for its calming and balancing properties, which aligns with the chapter's theme of opposites working together. It helps create a sense of harmony in the mind and body.

2. **Stress Relief**: The chapter emphasizes the complexities of life and the importance of understanding the interplay of different forces. Lavender is often used to reduce stress and anxiety, promoting a peaceful state of mind that allows for deeper reflection on life’s dualities.

3. **Grounding Effect**: Lavender can help ground emotions, making it easier to accept both the good and bad aspects of life, which resonates with the idea of not labeling things strictly as good or bad.

4. **Promotes Clarity**: The oil can aid in mental clarity and focus, helping you to see beyond opposites and appreciate the interconnectedness of all things.

Using omhealth lavendula vera from Bulgaria essential oil can enhance your meditation or reflective practices while contemplating the teachings of Lao Tzu in this chapter.

How to work with Dao De Jing 2 on Grief and lost?

Concepts of loss and grief can be understood through the lens of opposites and the natural flow of life. Here’s how these themes are handled:

1. **Acceptance of Duality**: The chapter emphasizes that opposites are interconnected—just as joy exists alongside sorrow, loss is a natural part of the cycle of life. Recognizing that grief is a response to loss allows us to embrace it as a necessary aspect of our experiences.

2. **Transience of Life**: Lao Tzu teaches that everything is in constant change. Grief often arises from our attachment to what we have lost. By understanding that all things are temporary, we can cultivate a sense of acceptance and peace, realizing that loss can lead to new beginnings.

3. **Embracing Emotions**: Rather than resisting feelings of grief, the chapter encourages embracing all emotions as part of the human experience. This acceptance can lead to deeper understanding and growth, allowing us to navigate through loss with greater wisdom.

4. **Finding Balance**: The notion that one cannot exist without the other—light without dark, joy without grief—suggests that acknowledging and processing our grief can ultimately lead to healing and balance in our lives.

By reflecting on these aspects, we can find meaning in loss and navigate our grief with a sense of acceptance and understanding.

Hope it helps all my students who have lost things or someone u love. It helps me alot. For now i accept my mom is really in a better place.