One of my favorite sentences in the Tao Te Ching can be found in verse 41 (when arranging things by the more common method).

The great scholar hearing the Tao
Tries to practice it.
The middling scholar hearing the Tao
Sometimes has it, sometimes not.
The lesser scholar hearing the Tao
Has a good laugh.
Without that laughter
It wouldn’t be Tao. (trans. Addiss/Lombardo)

I really love the embrace of humor (which Chuang Tzu was also a fan of) and also the wonderful, relaxed lack of need in the text. The Way is not a jealous Way.

I’ve always thought of myself as the middling scholar, and so this serves as a sort of memento mori for my next little project. I’m going to go through the Tao Te Ching and share my thoughts about each chapter; a post for each one. I don’t intend to critically analyze them or tell you what I think they mean (good luck with that). I just find the text returning to me at the oddest times and I wanted to write some of it down. Hopefully you’ll get the sense of what I’m doing as I go.