Tao Te Ching (Chapter 32)
What we call the Tao really has no name.
Naming something, we think we understand it.
What we call the Tao is far too subtle for that.
We experience it in our own true nature.
If we hold on to our own true nature,
all external and internal strife falls away.
Peace descends on our lives
like a gentle rain from heaven.
Joy flows from the earth like a mighty river.
There is no need to urge ourselves to do good.
Goodness is our heart’s true nature.
The more we use words,
the more distinctions we make,
the more we suffer.
When we stop taking distinctions seriously,
we cease to suffer.
We return to peace
just as streams and rivers
return to the ocean.
(By Lao Tsu, translated by William Martin)
Peace Descends
Letting go of fear is difficult because it hides in the crevices of your mind like a sly rat. Fear will come out and bite you when you least expect it. Recently, the so-called “crash of 2011” has elicited fear in many traders. It appears that one of life’s important tests is to stare down fear repeatedly. When you face your fears head on, the heat of the conflict distills the heavenly dew better known as grace. “Peace descends on our lives like a gentle rain from heaven.”
Mystery
Life is a mystery. And the way markets move epitomizes that mystery. Trying to label market movements as Fibonacci retracements or Elliot waves is like trying to pour the ocean into a glass. “What we call the Tao really has no name. Naming something, we think we understand it. What we call the Tao is far too subtle for that.” Like the Tao the markets are subtle. There is no “mastering” the markets. You need to learn to flow with the Tao to flow with the markets. “We return to peace just as streams and rivers return to the ocean.”
Joy Flows
Pay close attention to each moment when trading. Especially when you examine the perilous moments you will notice a hidden joy. The exhilaration of danger, of being fully alive in the trading moment. You love it. “Joy flows from the earth like a mighty river.” Embrace your joy and leave fear behind.
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