The Three Treasures

"I have just three things to teach:

simplicity, patience, compassion.

These three are your greatest treasures."

Tao Te Ching

Life is always very simple; wherever we are is exactly where we need to be, and whatever is happening is exactly what needs to be happening. Everything we go through contains the lessons we need to learn in order to flow more gracefully with the Tao (the Universal Life Force that is at the heart of everything that is unfolding right Now). Yet so often, in our struggle to make life work out the way we want it to, we grow impatient and try to force circumstances to be the way we think they should be, and towards the outcome we want. In this forcing, we often complicate our lives unnecessarily, and often end up making matters even more confused, while pushing away the very thing that we long for.

In the practice of the Taoist Three Treasures, we find a way out of this madness, and are given the key to living our lives with joy and ease, while effortlessly allowing everything we need to come into our lives, here and now. In the simple practice of patience, simplicity and compassion, we find the key to harnessing the power and flow of the Tao, while letting go of the resistance and struggle that often creates frustration and fear in our lives. Through patience we allow everything to settle down and come into view before acting, thereby conserving our energy for the times it is truly needed. By keeping things simple, we avoid the confusion of over-thinking and are able to clearly see the path ahead. And finally, with compassion for ourselves and others, we move through life knowing that everyone, including ourselves, is doing the best they can with where they are.

Through compassion we stop being so hard on ourselves and others, and open our hearts to the unconditional love that lies at the heart of a simple and patient Life. As it says in the Tao Te Ching, whenever we find ourselves feeling lost, or in a hurry for things to happen, we can always find our way back to balance and joy by remembering to keep things simple, to be patient, and most of all, to be compassionate toward ourselves and others.