The Uselessness of the Journey

Ultimately, there isn't a path that we can travel that achieves the "true" way.  Any efforts we make might be a reflection of it, but even discussing the dao nullifies the possible truth of its manifestation. The true name cannot be named.  This picture represents the paradoxical nature of the way.  As we learn more about avoiding wisdom, we grow wise.  We might draw close, but our very attempt to draw close keeps us from obtaining absolute perfection.

Excessive Order

This is my family's pantry cabinet.  Everything is very ordered and it is placed in such a way that it is aesthetically pleasing.  However, it can be tricky to determine whether ordering this cabinet is in line with the dao.  It all comes down to whether this action was effortless or required direct willpower/evaluation.  Though balance is virtuous, spontaneity is an essential element of the dao.

Preserving Balance

After winter, vines begin growing on our fence.  As summer arrives, we cut back the vines to preserve our pool area.  Harmony is important here: the "untamed" backdrop of the woods is still desirable, but we don't allow it to dominate our view/space.  We remove excess, while allowing opposites to reside together.

A Time Before Things

There’s a prevalent theme of returning to a past ideal state.  This signifies a return to “natural spontaneity” when we acted on instinct rather than thought out evaluation.  I took this picture because I felt like it.

Appearance Doesn't Determine Perfection

Keeping with the theme of effortless action, or even nonaction, perfection doesn't always appear like perfection.  Packing to go home, which is pictured above, might look chaotic but it was ordered.  The process was effortless--second nature. 

Simplicity

The dao is simple.  It doesn't require specific shape to be useful.  Similar to this picture of the sky, its beauty lies in its plain nature.

Effortless Beauty

 

This tree doesn't strive to be beautiful and so it is beautiful.  Its flowers come in spring, and leave in winter.  It isn't active.  It is fleeting.

Maintaining Opposites

 Knowing light, but preserving darkness, is essential to the dao.  One, without the other, is worthless.  But both draw each other out.

Unhewn Wood

Here, my brother moves branches so that I can have a clearer shot of the tree trunk.  Yet this detracts from the convoluted beauty of how things effortlessly occurred.  Unhewn wood, or anything in its unadultured natural state, is highly prized by the daoist.  Removing these branches is not in line with the dao.

Revisiting Water

Water might be weak and supple--taking the simplest path.  However, it constantly wears away at the stronger, more rigid, surface of these rocks.  Here the weak overcomes the strong.

Excess

The dao takes from where there is excess.  When a tree is too tall and rigid, the wind knocks it over.  When a forest is too thick, it more easily burns down.  These are natural processes.  Such is the dao.

The Use of Inaction

 

"The most supple things in the world ride roughshod over the most rigid" (Ivanhoe 46)

This dandelion's seeds are designed to ride the wind.  It is incredibly fragile and passive and therefore, effective.

The Shapeless Way

Similar to this picture, the dao cannot be clearly seen or understood.  It has no clearly designed shape but we might be able to catch its style or form.  We can catch a glimpse but never fully understand it.

Water as Illustration

 

Water illustrates the passivity of the dao perfectly.  It finds the easiest path, with least contention, and takes it without thinking.

Man Cannot Control Nature

 

 

"The world is a spiritual vessel and one cannot put it to use" (Ivanhoe 29)

 

The world outlives man's attempts to conquer it.  This treehouse was built using trees for support, yet the trees around it are already collapsing.

The Value of Space

"What is there is the basis for profit.  What is not there is the basis for use." (Ivanhoe 11)

Empty space on the wall provides room for each individual poster/flag to have its own space to be appreciated.  The wall gains value from each piece but the spacing allows them to have maximum impact on the viewer.