The Tao de Jing describes the experience of life as an ebb and flow of chaos and order. The ten thousand things are born and die, rise and fall. Outwardly, our life appears no different from the star or the slug. We come onto the scene, not for a million brilliant years but for more than a few slimey days in the woodland dirt. We appear and disperse.
But the Taoist sage speaks of an underlying infinite reality, the Tao, that never begins and never ends. All manifestations come from, move within, and returns to the Tao. The practice of sauntering brings me into a conscious awareness of the eternal movement of the Tao.
When I take my first step on a gravel path I assent consciously to the Divine flow. To saunter is not a willful act, but more akin to wu wei, the “effortless action” of the Taoist sage. When I saunter, I flow effortlessly within my aboriginal life begat in the infinite Tao. There should be no worry or fretting. Each step of my holy walking affirms nature’s eternal rising and falling, departing and returning, descending and ascending.
When my saunter traverses a virtuous path (a path of “de”), I return to my original mind, the mind unclouded by the anxieties, fears and assaultive thoughts. I settle into naturalness and plainness, the simplicity of the Tao.
Sauntering the Tao, the three treasures come into focus. Each saunter brings me one step closer to kindness, simplicity and moderation. These are the jewels of my aboriginal life.