No Direction Known

The Tao is though of by most as an ‘Eastern’ philosophy. It is true that it originated in the Far East but it is no more an eastern philosophy than it is a western philosophy, or a northern or southern philosophy. The Tao is everywhere. It is not contained in any one region of Earth or the universe. Whenever it is classified like this, it leads me to think that whoever is doing the classifying sees Taoism as a novelty; a cute philosophy, but having no real substance. This of course is not true. Many see ‘Eastern’ as being less sophisticated and therefore less true than various western ideas. This is true as the thread of Taoism is simplifying life, reducing conflict and stress, finding harmony within and around. That is what fools so many. They fail to see the simple, instead preferring to search for something more complex that does not work.