Verse Six: So this is where it all started...

Five short lines to v6, but it's where it all started. It has taken me three running days to get a grip on v6, not only because the verse is dense, but because I am, and because I have had a lot going on around here.

V6 is about Mother Nature. I hadn't pegged Taoism for being a a goddess-worship religion, but here it is. The Primal Mother whose "gateway" is the root of heaven and earth. I guess roots grow from somewhere, no? We are still missing an explanation of the start to the start.

But maybe we can start the earth here? Human experience? I was about to write "human misery," but thought the better of it. I have some long hills to climb over the next several days. Thinking positive, speaking positive. Funny how that becomes an effort.

So which gateway are we talking about? The obvious gateway? Where Harold tries to stick his head in the wooden sculpture in Maud's railroad car? Of course that's always been mysterious and powerful, but I would have thought a tad too obvious or something.

Maybe I'm on to something thinking about the starts of things. Everything comes from somewhere. A thought, a seed, an accident, a decision, an accidental decision...

V6 ends with "Use it; it will never fail." Which puts me in mind of putting one's faith in Jesus, or God, or something. Yogis tell you to trust your breathing. Lao-Tsu says to use the "valley spirit."

It's hard to get excited about running up a staircase of hills when one's head is in the philosophy like this. Sometimes it is hard to even notice running up a staircase of hills, even in what by all measures should be a most unpleasant 40 degrees and raining, just before the sun and wind come up.

This edition of The Tao te Ching has photos, I think I've mentioned. Humans are in about two of the photos, only a hand and a foot. A couple photos of human-made structures and things. Lots of trees, leaves, landscapes, birds surprisingly. With the book in my head, before dawn, running like a caveman, I do get lost in a timeless soup. When I get home all kinds of things fall on my head that need attention in the very present moment. Perhaps fewer people would hate running if they knew that this kind of peace was the payoff. I can step back and see that my physical experience and reactions are at best counterintuitive, and in the most honest light, probably delusional. But I'm not the only running maniac out there. I'm not even the most egregious offender (thought I understand it is symptomatic of a deeper ill to wish that I had more time to run more than I already do).

I didn't set out today to articulate why my running is cheaper than therapy, but this is a nice revelation. I certainly didn't think that contemplating the primal mother's gateway would get me here, either.