Arising Out Of

“Aversion is the flip side of greed, the same desire from a different direction.” – Stephen Mitchell, Tao Te Ching

One of the causes of my late husband’s death was an unnatural attachment to money. In my grief, I responded by eschewing monetary gain. It was an attempt to cleanse the suicidal stain he splashed across my life, but it did not set me free.

We say, “My <mother/father/spouse/teacher> told me not to do/say this. By golly, I’m going to do/say it to my dying day. I’ll show them.” We love our righteous indignation. It feels so…empowering. But it’s a deceiver, because it’s accompanied by chains, not wings.

A reaction *against* gives power to the thing, not to ourselves, and the more strongly we react, the more strongly we’re bound. We are only free when we do not react, but instead act from our own center, with our own impulse, fueled by our true passion. Arising out of, not in reaction against.

So I’ve learned to embrace abundance in all forms, including monetary. As long as I don’t become attached to it but allow it to flow in blessing through me and into the world, it is not evil, but another embodiment of godliness. Everything can be an avatar of She who Is, if we have the right intention.

Note: Mitchell’s version of tao te ching is fresh and inspiring. It’s a good introduction if you’re new to the tao, and it’s an interesting new perspective if you have studied the words of Lao-tzu. Here’s a link: tao te ching