NATURAL FREEDOM

Sometimes, people point to young children who spontaneously dance to music as an example of the natural freedom of the Tao. Their movements are completely uncontrived, without any pretense. They smile in pure joy. Surely this is the Tao?

It is one level of the Tao, a level we all had access to when we were little. At at higher level of the Tao, there is a different kind of natural freedom. It comes not from the innocence of youth, but from the attainment of great skills through diligent practice.

Imagine that a child pursues her dream of becoming a ballerina. She takes lessons, practices for hours every day and advances her skills from novice to complete mastery.

When she performs, members of the audience see none of the hard work that went into the years of practice. They see only the beautiful and graceful movements. She is so good at it that she can express herself at will, with complete freedom and naturalness, while losing none of the technical precision. Her dance is pure joy, and it is also more. It is art.

The Tao Today

Consider the difference between the child dancer and the ballerina. Both are joyous. Both are beautiful, but in different ways. The child’s dance is artless, and that’s part of its charm. The dancer’s performance, on the other hand, is technically flawless, but also emotional and artistic. It has the power to awe, move and inspire. This is the level of the Tao where human beings excel at their best, where the perfection of motion becomes an expression of something divine.

The Tao of Joy Every Day

~ Derek Lin