For a number of years, I used a non-dominant-hand writing method to access inner wisdom and guidance. Once, as my left hand was writing about seeing through all illusion to the reality of truth, I was counseled not only to see the truth, but to “live the seeing.” Curious phrasing, but the advice stuck with me.
The Chinese word “De” in the title of the Dao De Jing teaches us a lot about living the seeing. De is often translated as virtue, but it doesn’t mean virtue in the sense of morality. It is also translated as power, but not in the sense of power over someone or something. To me, De means the virtue of harmony with, and the power inherent in, the natural order of all creation.
We are part of creation. We come from Dao and have within us this virtue and power of De, just like every other part of creation. We can’t not have it. So how do we awaken ourselves to the awareness of it? How do we “see” it and then “live the seeing”?
The Chinese character for De is a wonderful visual representation of this concept.
The right side of the character has two components. On the top is 直 which means upright, straight, correct. It is made up of two parts: 十 which is the number 10, and 目 which means eye. Think of what you could see if you had ten eyes.
Underneath on the right side is 心 which means heart. Put that together and you have the all-seeing vision of the heart. This is the “seeing” part of “live the seeing.”
On the left of the character is 彳 which means to take a step or to go forward. This is the “living” part, encouraging us to go forward in our lives guided by the all-seeing vision of the heart. This takes courage and trust. We need to trust the guidance of our heart and have the courage to follow it.
Sometimes it takes a little practice to get out of our heads long enough to listen to our heart and discern its guidance. How can we be sure that the guidance we’re receiving is from the heart’s wisdom? I’ve learned that heart guidance will always and without fail lead me in the path of love.
So live the seeing. Live it with every breath, with every word, with every thought, with every heartbeat. Live it until you see only its beauty, until you feel only its embrace, until you become completely the love you truly are.
And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
The artwork drew me into this post for a unique reason: I have had cataract surgery over the past few months, and suddenly, the world is bright and filled with the colors my cloudy lens was not allowing me to see. Thinking of the 80’s song, my future (and present) is so bright I have to wear shades.
More to the point of your thoughts, just this change in vision brings the present gloriously alive. It is so much easier to “live the seeing” when I am seeing everything with newfound clarity. It is a wonderful world
Your comment helps motivate me to go ahead and get cataract surgery myself, which I’ve needed for a while. Thanks for your description of such a positive outcome. And what a great metaphor of seeing things through a cloudy lens and then seeing clearly. And experiencing the joy and well being of clarity of sight. (And thanks, Bob, for your patience and help with my comment glitches today!)