The morning after I returned home, I opened the doors to my house to let in the crisp autumn air. I took a deep breath and gazed into the bright outdoors.
Laozi wrote that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. He makes no comment about the conclusion of a journey. In my experience, the next step is the start of another journey.
Where will we go? We have plenty of choices. Laozi makes an oblique reference to this too, because he refers to the gate of mysteries. That makes sense. You don’t know what is beyond any gate until you enter. A succession of gates are along every path. If we go through one, we can’t go through another. The gate we choose shapes our future.
There’s plenty of advice in the world. There are plenty of suggestions as to which way we should walk—like saying we should move to New York if we want to be artists. And there’s plenty of wisdom in the world: Daoism alone takes a lifetime to absorb. After all the considerations, what matters is taking the next step through the portal—by believing in yourself and Dao.
A lifetime is a space that we occupy. It’s up to us how we want to make use of it. The best way is not to seek fame, domination over other people and the earth, or to degenerate into self-gratification. What matters is how we apportion the space of our lives, how we use each opportunity, whether we are compassionate and helpful to others, and whether we are truly involved in the wonders of this existence.
I wanted to live my life my way. That meant little support, lots of doubt, and decades of hard work. I made more mistakes than the number of breaths you’ve taken in your entire life. In the process, I found that the events and trajectory of my life could never have been designed in advance. They had to be found spontaneously. So, live with the unknown. Enter the gate of mystery. Live a long and creative life crossing spaces.
All spaces are creative spaces.
(end of series)
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Rajasthani Balcony in eight pieces. Sandstone. Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India. 18th century. a: 71 1/2 × 25 3/4 × 4 1/4 in., 260 lb. (181.6 × 65.4 × 10.8 cm, 117.94kg) b: 70 × 27 1/4 × 4 1/4 in., 400 lb. (177.8 × 69.2 × 10.8 cm, 181.44kg) c: 72 × 27 × 2 3/4 in., 200 lb. (182.9 × 68.6 × 7 cm, 90.72kg) d: 69 1/2 × 24 1/4 × 4 1/4 in., 318 lb. (176.5 × 61.6 × 10.8 cm, 144.24kg) e: 69 1/2 × 24 × 3 3/4 in., 310 lb. (176.5 × 61 × 9.5 cm, 140. Brooklyn Museum.
https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/114168