Tao Verse 19

See with Original Purity

Tao Verse 18

"If you need rules to be kind and just ... virtue is absent."

 

Tao Verse 17

 

If one doesn't trust himself how can he trust anyone else?

Assuming the Drab Color of the World

I needed a little something in case I got stuck with nothing to do on a recent trip.  Most simply turn their attention to that little black box in their pocket.  I usually avoid that at all costs.  This book stuck out on my bookshelf as something that might be mildly entertaining, without too huge of commitment.   I do not recall from where it came at all.  It just appeared in my collection one day; perhaps, under its own power, it invited itself into my world.  

Regardless.  While standing in the line of eternity at the airport, I began reading and quickly found it fit the bill perfectly.  Short passages within specific topic chapters outlined a diversity of opinion and speculation on the cause of this or that in the turn-of-the-century Ozark world.

One of the most striking observations came in the forward.  It not only fits the time of the writing but could easily be applied to the impact of globalization that occurred throughout much of the time after.

"Wherever railroads and highway penetrate, wherever newspapers and moves and radios are introduced, the people gradually lose their distinctive local traits and assume the drab color which characterizes conventional Americans elsewhere. The Ozarkers are changing rather rapidly just now, and it may be that a few more years of progress will find them thinking and acting very much like country folk in other parts of the United States. This standardizing transformation is still far from complete, however. A great body of folk belief dies very slowly, and I suspect that some vestiges of backwoods superstition will be with us for al long time to come."

Indeed these vestiges of backwoods superstition persist in much of our daily lives, as demonstrated by a few other passages within the book.  The very first that I encountered took me back to a saying my great-grandmother espoused frequently that was always left me a little confused about what rain and sunshine had to do with the devil beating his wife.  I remain perplexed to this day too.

The next I encountered came straight from my parents mouths.  It is but another that leaves me wondering.  Why Bread and Butter?

Some may be more familiar with the "Salt and Pepper" variation.  While this one seems equally unfounded, the book does discuss beliefs surrounding various aspects of good and evil associated with having, keeping and freely giving salt away to another.

Then there are some that do not match perfectly to well known phrases, though it is easy to tell from where they may have had their beginnings, as with this related to finding a pin.

I could probably snapshot most of this book, and may yet include more of these phrases in the comments as I go along.  It is a fun read, to the say the least.  Some phrases have no specific origin and some are meant to keep children busy in the days before radio, television, or any sort of other technology. I neglected to snapshot this point but it amounted to sending children to go count the freckles on the face of another to find out how many days until summer or some such thing.

Randolph, V. (2012). Ozark Magic and Folklore. Dover Publications. (Original work published 1947).

Tao Verse 16

The great truth of Nature is Tao.

Tao Verse 15

Those who have Tao want nothing else.

Tao Verse 14

Beyond the sense lies the great Unity.

Tao Verse 13

Be wary of both honor and disgrace.

Tao Verse 12

the Sage is led by his inner truth and not his outer eye

Tao Verse 11

when a thing has existence alone it is mere dead-weight

Tao Verse 10

Hold fast to the Power of the One

Tao Verse 9

 

This is the way of Heaven.  This is the way to Heaven.

Tao Verse 8

 

One who lives in accordance with nature does not go against the way of things.

Tao Verse 7

By having no claims to life, they cannot be claimed by death.

Our Future President

This is likely the funniest thing I have read in awhile.  It is from Volume 1 of the Autobiography of Mark Twain, related to him speaking about General Grant in 1881.

"I had been picturing the America of fifty years hence, with a population of two hundred million souls, and was saying that the future President, Admirals and so forth of that great coming time were now lying in their various cradles, scattered abroad over the vast expanse of this country, and then said 'And now in his cradle somewhere under the flag the future illustrious Commander-in-Chief of the American armies is so little burdened with his approaching grandeur and responsibilities as to be giving his whole strategic mind at this moment to trying to find out some way to get his big toe into his mouth  - something, meaning no disrespect to the illustrious guest of this evening, which he turned his entire attention to some fifty-six years ago.'"

Tao Verse 6

 

Tao is limitless, unborn, eternal —

Tao Verse 5

Heaven and Earth have no preference.

The Great Ocean of Truth

Occasionally, we stumble upon quotes that resonates.  I ran across this one today, so snatched it up and planted it on top of one my own photos taken on the shores of Lake Superior.  

Tao Verse 4

Tao is empty yet it fills every vessel with endless supply.

Tao Verse 3

Putting a value on status will cause people to compete.