Card #131 – Repel Chaos with Ego Control

Ego attempting to schedule, organize, and otherwise control the Tao. Man proposes, but the Tao disposes. Scheduling and planning should be undertaken as strategic activities we engage in within the present, but with an awareness that future developments may overwrite our plans. It is not our job to prestructure the future.

Soil with a lot of manure in it produces abundant crops; water that is too clear has no fish. Therefore, enlightened people should maintain the capacity to accept impurities and should not be solitary perfectionists. — Huanchu Daoren (16th Century Taoist)