Friday, April 9, 2010

Living by demanding little




Tao Te Ching

75th verse.


"When taxes are too high,

people go hungry.

When the government is too intrusive,

people lose their spirit.


Act for the people's benefit;

trust them, leave them alone."

-Lao-Tzu-


"Government officials often vote to raise more & more money for pet projects and even their own personal benefit simply because they have the authority to do so. Since they're in charge of lawmaking, they write rules that allow them to be abusive toward the very people who pay their salaries and provide them with all their benefits. In virtually all cases, those who are being taxed to provide luxurious lifestyle perks receive far less in the way of benefits than those who are the recipients of that tax. In other words, the rule makers and others in power are using their positions to take advantage of ordinary people. When this becomes too prevalent, those ordinary people become restless and disruptive, with scant respect for authority. as Lao-tzu puts it "People lose their spirit."

Rather than demanding more because you're older, bigger, richer, or more powerful, leave those you're in charge of alone whenever feasible, trusting in their inherent wisdom to do the right thing. Overbearing, taxing authorities create rebellion and chaos -- and you'll create the same unless you check your inclinations and reverse yourself by being less demanding instead of more. "

-wayne dyer-

3 comments:

pennington family said...

I'm going to attend the tea party here on the 15th, thanks for the inspiration to do that! Also, thanku for the swap meet idea!

Jen said...

Ah, Eastern thought. Took a class at BYU for my major and had to read a lot of the Tao.

Pedaling said...

pretty soon that will be us in the rice fields, if we're not careful.