Sublime

And so I learned to drive. At sixty-three! I had been a passenger my whole life: Ulay had driven our van around Europe; once, when he tried to teach me to drive in the Sahara, I veered off the road and we were stuck in the sand for an entire day.

Loss is inevitable. We age and lose our youth, our physical and mental abilities, and our loved ones. We can’t seem to keep the clock from ticking or the world from changing. No matter what we do, we can’t have just one side of any duality. Joy will always be accompanied by pain, gain with loss, hope with fear, and so on. This never-ending cycle of

Therefore, he had to go out into the world, lose himself to lust and power, to woman and money, had to become a merchant, a dice-gambler, a drinker, and a greedy person, until the priest and Samana in him was dead. Therefore, he had to continue bearing these ugly years, bearing the disgust, the teachings, the pointlessness of a dreary and wasted li

Siddhartha stopped fighting his fate this very hour, and he stooped suffering. Blooming on his face was mirth of a knowledge no longer opposed by any will, knowing perfection, and in agreement with the flow of events and the current of life. This mirth was full of sympathy for the pain and pleasure of others; it was devoted to the flow and dedicate

And this is the nature of the Tao. We all face gain and loss, joy and sorrow, and birth and death. The laws are inescapable.

When Siddhartha reached twenty-nine he announced his desire to explore the surrounding city. His father agreed but arranged things so that his son saw only young, healthy people engaging in young, healthy-people activities. But the gods were having none of that: they sent an old man with gray hair, missing teeth, and a limp to surprise Siddhartha,