Tao Te Ching: A New English Version (Perennial Classics)

The Tao that can be spoken of is not the true Tao.

Which makes a book about the Tao rather tricky. I’m not a scholar of Eastern religions, but a friend gave this to me as the best translation, and I can say that it is rather gorgeous, a series of elegant and self-contradictory parables into the nature of mastery, into an acceptance of the universe as it should be. I found some parts rather stunning in their clarity. Voids are more useful than existence. The walls and roof make a house, but we live inside the void. The nature of “doing” vs “done” is more challenging, as I face creative projects I am procrastinating on, as well as the more prosaic dishes that will not put themselves away.

Still, a great book.