For my inspiration today I went to my bookshelf and pulled my copy of the Tao te Ching off the shelf.  This is one of my go to books for when I need a little centering.  On the inside cover of the dust jacket the book is described as ” a timeless guide to the art of living”.

It is not surprising then, that initially the wabi-sabi mind-set was found in Taoism and Chinese Zen Budhism .  So, in honor of those ancient beginnings here is a passage from the Tao Te Ching.

 

Look, and it can’t be seen.

Listen, and it can’t be heard.

Reach, and it can’t be grasped.

Above, it isn’t bright.

Below, it isn’t dark.

Seamless, unnamable,

it returns to the realm of nothing.

Form that includes all forms,

image without an image,

subtle, beyond all conception.

Approach it and there is no beginning;

follow it and there is no end.

You can’t know it, but you can be it,

at ease in your own life.

Just realise where you come from:

this is the essence of wisdom.

~Lao Tzu