Treading Water

     "He who knows others is learned; he who knows himself is wise."                            Lao Tze

     I asked someone today, "How's your week going?". His answer was "Treading water". He proceeded to tell me about his confidence in his ability to swim. "I could tread water for hours, even days if I had to, but eventually", he said, as his eyes his dropped from the grasp of mine, " eventually, you know it's going to take you over." I empathized so with his feeling of despair and, at the same time, was inspired by his gleeful understanding that he was NOT going to drown. This is the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY that moves me and leaves me in awe, wonder and hope, for all of which we are capable.
     The Tao is described as an unending flow, to and from the Source of The One. This flow, as they teach of it, is much like water. A sea of mysterious forces, time, space and consciousness. If we liken the navigation of life to swimming, like those who study the Tao, we understand that the most important part of swimming is knowing HOW TO FLOAT. There is a trust that happens between the swimmer and the water. There is a knowing  about the amount of energy that's required to float, to swim towards a goal, or to tread water. There is an understanding  about the finesse needed to "push" the water, an understanding of how it CANNOT BE PUSHED and an understanding of how to to use the water to make our way easier. But, above all, there is a TRUST that the water will ALWAYS SUPPORT US in this way.
      In physics,  90+% of the universe is made up of dark matter and energy and things of which we know virtually nothing about. Science teaches us that there is an intelligence that exists in all things and that this intelligence responds to us, connects us, and communications with us. How great is that?! If we doubt whether or not we will be supported by the universe, ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS ASK!