Exhaustion.
These have been the longest 3 days of my life. Thursday & Friday were orchestra rehearsals... long a boring, then today was the orchestra concert. So within the last 3 days I've put 10 hours of energy towards it, and now it's done. It's a relief, but the concert was nothing short of amazing. I am really enjoying being a part of the orchestra this year. It's my 4th year in it, and I think it's the strongest we've ever been with such a wide variety of talent. It's awesome! Enough NERD talk.
Tomorrow I work all day. It's a good and bad thing. It's good because I love going to work, but it's bad because I'm so tired. My stepdad woke everyone in the house up at 7am today because he thought he was funny, I was so pissed, because I wanted to go back to sleep, but then I started watching this ghost hunting type of show on the travel channel, and I was HOOKED into it for about 2 hours, and at that point I was pretty much over sleeping, so I got ready and went and saw Inside Man with my mom, which was a good movie (just good) but if youlike movies that make you think a lot (which I usually do) then I recommend it. Denzel does a good job of playing an asshole cop, which reminded me a lot of my high school band director. haha.
My life right now, is the same as always, but I must say I've been in such a good mood lately, and I love it, despite other things going on in my life, I just try not to let it get me down.
That's all for now.
Oh and I'm rereading the Tao Te Ching so I thought it would be fun if you guys read along with me again, and maybe open your eyes up to taoism a bit. It's quite interesting. Although I am not completely a Taoist (I still have some Christian beliefs) I just really believe stongly in the messages that Taoism offers. It makes you connected with your self, and everything else around you. So if you want to read along, then feel free to but I am going to be putting it in a LJ cut below each of my posts. (FYI: The entire Tao Te Ching is 81 chapters long... but they are not exactly chapters, they are more of mini 'lessons' most of them being no longer than 10 lines).
Take care. Enjoy.
ONE
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but differ in name;
this appears as darkness
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.
TWO
Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness.
All can know good as good only because there is evil.
Therefore having and not having arise together.
Difficult and easy complement each other.
Long and short contrast each other;
High and low rest upon each other;
Voice and sound harmonize each other;
Front and back follow one another.
Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing, teaching no-talking.
The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease,
Creating, yet not possessing,
Working, yet not taking credit.
Work is done, then forgotten.
Therefore it lasts forever.
THREE
Not exalting the gifted prevents quarreling.
Not collecting treasures prevents stealing.
Not seeing desirable things prevents confusion of the heart.
The wise therefore rule by emtying hearts and stuffing bellies,
by weakening ambitions and strengthening bones.
If people lack knowledge and desire,
then intellectuals will not try to interfere.
If nothing is done, then all will be well.
FOUR
The Tao is an empty vessel; it is used, but never filled.
Oh, fathomable source of ten thousand things!
Blunt the sharpness,
Untangle the knot,
Soften the glare,
Merge with dust.
Oh, hidden deep but ever present!
I do not know from whence it comes.
It is the forefather of the emperors.
*taken from the Tao Te Ching 25th Anniversary Edition. By Lao Tsu. Translated by Gia-Fu Fen and Jane English.*
Tomorrow I work all day. It's a good and bad thing. It's good because I love going to work, but it's bad because I'm so tired. My stepdad woke everyone in the house up at 7am today because he thought he was funny, I was so pissed, because I wanted to go back to sleep, but then I started watching this ghost hunting type of show on the travel channel, and I was HOOKED into it for about 2 hours, and at that point I was pretty much over sleeping, so I got ready and went and saw Inside Man with my mom, which was a good movie (just good) but if youlike movies that make you think a lot (which I usually do) then I recommend it. Denzel does a good job of playing an asshole cop, which reminded me a lot of my high school band director. haha.
My life right now, is the same as always, but I must say I've been in such a good mood lately, and I love it, despite other things going on in my life, I just try not to let it get me down.
That's all for now.
Oh and I'm rereading the Tao Te Ching so I thought it would be fun if you guys read along with me again, and maybe open your eyes up to taoism a bit. It's quite interesting. Although I am not completely a Taoist (I still have some Christian beliefs) I just really believe stongly in the messages that Taoism offers. It makes you connected with your self, and everything else around you. So if you want to read along, then feel free to but I am going to be putting it in a LJ cut below each of my posts. (FYI: The entire Tao Te Ching is 81 chapters long... but they are not exactly chapters, they are more of mini 'lessons' most of them being no longer than 10 lines).
Take care. Enjoy.
ONE
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.
Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations.
These two spring from the same source but differ in name;
this appears as darkness
Darkness within darkness.
The gate to all mystery.
TWO
Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness.
All can know good as good only because there is evil.
Therefore having and not having arise together.
Difficult and easy complement each other.
Long and short contrast each other;
High and low rest upon each other;
Voice and sound harmonize each other;
Front and back follow one another.
Therefore the sage goes about doing nothing, teaching no-talking.
The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease,
Creating, yet not possessing,
Working, yet not taking credit.
Work is done, then forgotten.
Therefore it lasts forever.
THREE
Not exalting the gifted prevents quarreling.
Not collecting treasures prevents stealing.
Not seeing desirable things prevents confusion of the heart.
The wise therefore rule by emtying hearts and stuffing bellies,
by weakening ambitions and strengthening bones.
If people lack knowledge and desire,
then intellectuals will not try to interfere.
If nothing is done, then all will be well.
FOUR
The Tao is an empty vessel; it is used, but never filled.
Oh, fathomable source of ten thousand things!
Blunt the sharpness,
Untangle the knot,
Soften the glare,
Merge with dust.
Oh, hidden deep but ever present!
I do not know from whence it comes.
It is the forefather of the emperors.
*taken from the Tao Te Ching 25th Anniversary Edition. By Lao Tsu. Translated by Gia-Fu Fen and Jane English.*