The picture above is of me while I was teaching at the Confucius Normal School and Jining University in Qufu in 2011.
The entry below reminds us that we are constantly leaving parts of ourselves behind. Back in late February 1995, when I wrote it, I was still in Fall River, preparing to start as the Interim Town Planner in West Warwick, Rhode Island—a role I would hold only until April, before Marie and I moved to Florida. While some describe moving from one place to another as a transition, I prefer to see it as a transformation into who we are meant to be. We feel unsettled because our actions don’t align with our inner strengths and weaknesses, which are always seeking positive expression. As Eric Butterworth said, “The universe is calling” and our highest endeavor is to respond accordingly.
Not settling for anything less than where we’re meant to be and who we’re meant to become is the core of our lives. Art, music, and writing are there to broaden our horizons and take us to places we might never otherwise reach. Importantly, so are our nine to five jobs. Whatever we do as work is not who we are, but to bring us ever closer to where we need to be. It is as Ram Dass told us more the thirty years ago that… “The person we are from nine to five is not who we are from five to nine”. Until we can use all that we do to benefit our ultimate enfoldment.
They say that when we give up on ourselves, there’s nowhere else to turn. It’s staying true to where our memories, thoughts, and dreams are guiding us that keeps us grounded in the present. Often, we let our actions and possessions take control, as if we need to become someone other than who we truly are. It can feel like our lives are just an illusion of ourselves.
We return to Chuang Tzu’s Perfected Man, and where Lieh Tzu emphasizes the importance of understanding the underlying patterns of life, our transformation, and our true natures. A phrase I particularly admire suggests that we should be “inwardly tranquil and outwardly reverent”. The value of Confucius that I found living in Qufu and teaching at the school founded by his descendants was that we are to practice inner cultivation by combining Confucian virtues withing our mind and through practice become aware of the ways of the Tao.
My travels with Lieh Tzu / Interpolations along the Way
Chapter 3 – King Mu of Zhou
45. Taking the Dragon’s lead (An Interlude)
Unsure of your ultimate direction your travel westward to the farm from where you 
came and the gardens of your grandmother. Back to nature you think may bring you closer to the innocence that you feel that you must return. The land now owned by others who have their own destiny to follow and have as such become tied to the soil and all the attachments that come to it. Is your destiny any more important than theirs?
As you prepare to leave the place you have toiled for years to create with its intricate landscaping and gardens, you become distressed and forlorn that just as you cannot return to where you came ‑ you cannot stay where you are now. You now know that your ultimate direction is tied to your writing. Traveling with dragons to vistas unknown and unseen by few who can come to follow their true seeds of destiny. Finding comfort in knowing that you do not know what tomorrow brings to your doorstep.
Finding peace of mind in staying true to the course of events that you must follow. Simplifying to only basic needs and being happy with the outcome. Your answer is in your writings as they bring you closer to the place you need to be. In finding this all will be as well as it needs to be.
All that has appeared to date has been but a test. Coming to know dragons and inner accolades that follow is the ultimate key to your success. The more you lose in what may be seen as earthly acclaim, you will gain with satisfaction in the clouds.
Each has his own destiny that must be followed. Do not contend and find yours along the wayside. Simply by letting go and knowing that all that happens is meant to happen. Find comfort solely in the details and rest assured that the dragons are asking about you.
Reminding you that your writing is tied to who you are, not where you are. As you now travel with them into eternity. 2/26/95
Number forty-five of one hundred fifty-eight entries.
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