Tao Te Ching

The Power of Goodness, the Wisdom Beyond Words
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Art of Worldly Wisdom
Chapter 12
Never finish

A continual artistic approach to our innermost selves, to our physical surroundings, and to our relationships saves us from meaningless barbarism. Only accepting—without listening to the inner, creative impulse to improve—confines us to herd-instinct conformity. All beauty can be enhanced, all excellence improved, all personal qualities refined. Art improves the negative, amplifies the good.

Commentary

“When it is a man’s fate to undertake new beginnings, everything is still unformed, dark. Therefore he must hold back because any premature move might bring disaster.”

Fu Xi 伏羲 1 via Richard Wilhelm, Hexagram 3, "Difficuty at the Beginning"
Emperor/shaman progenitor of civilization symbol
from I Ching

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