The shadow asks the stranger, "Am I a whole person?"

To which the stranger, as he sits and begins sipping a cup of tea, replies, "Who am I to say of you? Instead, I will ask--Are you a whole person?"

"Well, I am here now, and all of the pieces that I am made up of are here now as well, for if even just one of those single pieces were to not be here, then I would not be here as I am now." Answers the shadow.

The stranger then asks the shadow, "And if I were to take away one of those single pieces, even the most unneccesary one, would you be a whole person then as well as now?"

"If I am a whole person now, then by taking away from me just one of those pieces that I am made up of now, I would no longer be a whole person then. However, if I am a whole person now, the removal of one piece would make me not a whole person now, but I would be there then, made up of all the pieces that I will then be made up of, so in truth, I will then be a whole person just as I am now a whole person, made up of all the pieces that I am made up of now." Was the shadow’s response.

The stranger asks again, "And if then, I were take away another single piece, Would you be a whole person then?"

"Would it be accurate to presume that, if this were to keep occurring, that each piece that is taken away would leave me, each time, as not a whole person then as I am now, and yet fully able to say then that I am a whole person now?" How, if before a piece is taken away now, I can still be a whole person then; when, I was a whole person then, am no longer a whole person now, after a piece has been taken away?" Replied the shadow.

To all this, the stranger then replies, "So, if you consider yourself a whole person before the piece is taken away, then you cease to be a whole person after it is taken, and if you consider yourself as a whole person, being the sum of all the pieces you are made up of at any moment, then even after a piece is taken away, you shall always be a whole person, no matter how much is taken away from you?"

The shadow replies, "I will be a whole person then, no matter how much has been taken away, but to the whole person now, I will no longer be that whole person again. But, to the whole person then, I would be just as whole as the person before it, yet less so than the person after it."

Finally, the stranger asks the shadow, "What if there are no more pieces to take? What are you then?"

The shadow responds, "If there is not even one single piece left that can be taken away from me, then I am made up of nothing, and I am not only not a whole person, but I do not exist. If I were to have a single remaining piece left of me, and if I am a whole person now, just as I am, having been removed of that final piece, a whole person then, even if I do not exist, would I still be a whole person then as I am a whole person now?" The shadow pauses quietly for a moment, "But this does not make any sense."

The stranger, finishing up the cup of tea, stands and begins to walk away. Turning back slightly over his shoulder, he says, "As you have allowed yourself an abundunce of yourself, you have managed to make youself to no longer exist and still claim yourself a whole person. This is why you are yet to be whole, and why you remain merely my shadow."

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I find myself, quite suddenly,
standing beneath a fiery crimson sky.
Breathtaking and bold,
it brings such an ominous reply
to the fears that grow
deep within the mind's eye.

The air grows cold, cruel and heartless.
A shroud of subtle, yet prominent
darkness is cast about.
And our Mother Earth herself
is held silent all throughout.
Her protective defiance denied
by the fires in the sky, so deafeningly loud.

A morbid and horrible vision has been given to us.
Yet it is our denial that will hold our hand
through our imminent demise.
And it will look down on us
with a devious grin and stabbing eyes,
laughing boisterously at us
for ever thinking we were so wise.

When the fiery beast finally lays down to sleep,
we will see all that was consumed
by our relentless selfishness
as we are left alone
within our bitter lonliness.
Abandoned
by our own self righteousness.

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Won't you tell me who you are?
Show me what you know.
You talk so much, well I guess you know it all.
Tell what me what to say.
Tell me what to do.
Tell me where to go cause I'll be lost without you.

So you know how the story goes.
Know your heroes from your foes?
I'm sure you were the first to tell the tale.
You raised up all the sails.
Laid down every nail.
I'm sure you are the one who never fails.

You are the center of the world.
We all spin just for you.
All must hear your each and every word.
You who knows it all.
You who's never wrong
You who stands most high above us all.

But when nightime slips away
and the dreams roll off your eyes,
well the truth is the opposite of what you realize.
Do you see all the lies you tell?
Do you see who you really are?
Do you see that you don't know shit
of this world that you say your from.
And I'm sure that you think you know.
You'd best think twice if your gonna show
your face in this place that we call the real world.

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Here is the picture
that you wanted to believe.
You've struggled so hard
to find your place
in this portrait world you've made.
You've struggled so hard.
You never saw the realities
of the situations you create.
You never saw the realities
of the consequences you have made.
In your mind you tried to find
all the answers to your life.
In your mind you tried to hide
a thousand killers waiting inside.

Here is the picture
that you've struggled to achieve.
Your image lies in ruins.
This portrait world you've made
falls apart and fades away.
You tried so hard to hold on to
a world only you could know.
You tried so hard to know
a world only you could hold on to.
In your mind you tried to find
all the answers to your life.
In your mind you tried to hide
the vicious ignorance inside.

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This is a personal interpretation of another passage from the Tao Teh Ching.


"The highest form of goodness is like water.
Water knows how to benefit all things without strife or conflict.
It dwells in places unknown, feared, and therefore loathed by men.
And so it comes near the deep, hidden mysteries of all things.

In choosing your dwelling, know how to keep to ground.
In cultivating your mind, know how to dive into the hidden depths.
In dealing with others, know how to be gentle and flowing.
In speaking, know how to keep your words.
In governing, know how to maintain yourself.
In tending your affairs, know how to be efficient and nourishing.
In moving, know how to feel the right moment.

If you have no conflict with those around you,
then no one can ever attack you."

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This is one of my favorite passages from Tao Teh Ching.

"When all the world sees beauty as beauty, this in itself is ugly.
When all the world sees good as good, this in itself is evil.

The hidden and the manifest give birth to each other.
Difficult and easy complement each other.
Long and Short exhibit each other.
High and low set measure to each other.
Voice and sound harmonize each other.
Back and front follow each other.

The Sage manages his affairs without ado,
and spreads his teaching without talking.
He denies nothing to the teeming things.
He rears them, but lays no claim to them.
He does his work, but sets no store by it.
He accomplishes his task, but does not dwell on it.

Yet it is because he does not dwell on it
that nobody can ever take it away from him."

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"...there is no reason why we should be hidebound by tradition. A technique that is being actually practised is a growing thing, for the experience of each enriches it and becomes part of the common heritage."

"(but)...with a tradition: that which is not antagonistic will be assimilated. We must always test the purity of a tradition by reference to first principles, but we shall equally judge...the vitality of a tradition by its power to assimilate. It is only a dead faith which remains uninfluenced by contemporary thought."

---Dion Fortune

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