Inside of an old shed

THE FIXER AND THE TAO: Everything is perfect exactly as it is

Last updated: March 28th, 2019

When I look at the aspect of me that wants to fix things and people, I see that it’s a very powerful drive. I also see that it’s quite a clever aspect because I’m quite good at fixing, if I do say so myself. Fortunately for me, fixing is a never ending task.

But is it really possible to fix anything, or am I just imposing my sense of order on something that is and always has been part of some “Great Perfection” that merely occurs to me at the moment to be broken.

The notion that something needs fixing assumes somehow that something is broken or imperfect. When I examine this notion closer I find that it’s totally unfounded. It’s not necessary for something to be viewed as broken or imperfect as a prerequisite for my taking action.

Most of us have things in our lives that we believe need fixing. But the attitude we bring to the task is not one of excitement and adventure but one of drudgery or obligation.

What if, instead of an attitude of “fixing,” we brought an attitude of “changing” or “rearranging”? Then fixing up the house can become a matter of “changing” the colour of the bedroom. Fixing the toilet can become a matter of “rearranging” the parts in the tank so that it doesn’t run in between flushes.

Possibly the most depressing notions that we hold are those around “fixing” other people or, heaven forbid, fixing ourselves. What is depressing, of course, is that we, or someone else we care about, are seen as “broken.” Does something have to be broken or wrong in order to change or evolve? Certainly not. It’s the notion that something is imperfect that adds the onerous angst to the activities we choose to engage.

Taoism tells us that we’re part of a great unfolding that happens both with and without us necessarily doing anything. Everything that we do is a part of that unfolding. There’s nothing perfect or imperfect about the world as it is or about what it is becoming. In as much as we are a part of the world, there is nothing perfect or imperfect about ourselves or others either.

Therefore, it is we who bring judgments into our perception. And along with those judgments we bring angst, dissatisfaction and suffering. The Tao is perfect in every moment, just as it is, and as it is not, as is our part in the Tao. Ironically, it’s also part of that perfection that we suffer until we learn how to be in our lives without suffering. In the space of seeing that nothing is wrong or broken we can begin to play in our world and with each other with the sense that life is a gift and not a chore or a burden.

What Taoism is showing us is that it’s not what we do in life but the attitude we bring to our being that controls our sense of life’s quality. When we’re in the Tao, like being in the “zone,” we float in the river of experience with curiosity and awe. We ride the horse in the direction it’s already going, gently guiding, working with the forces that are already present accepting and experiencing what is as part of the process that we’re at the same time creating.

[su_panel background=”#f2f2f2″ color=”#000000″ border=”0px none #ffffff” shadow=”0px 0px 0px #ffffff”]by Michael Jenkins

image: Inside the old shed via Shutterstock