The world is not a machine, but an exquisite sanctuary. You need to be one with the world. You need to feel that you are not an accident in this world. You need to feel that the world is not an accident either. You need to celebrate your own uniqueness in a world that is sacred. The sacredness of the world, your dignity and your sovereignty, are assured by the assumption that the world is a sanctuary. To act in a world as if it were a sanctuary is to make it reverential and sacred; and is to make yourself elevated and meaningful. What the universe becomes depends on you. Treat it like it becomes a divine place. Treat it indifferently and ruthlessly and it becomes an indifferent and ruthless place. Treat it with love and care and it becomes a loving and caring place.
There is a force at work in the universe that guides all things. To imitate this force is called "falling in line with the Way of Heaven." It is the way of this force to yield. It is the way of this force to endure. Holding fast to the "Way," all things are accomplished by this force. The force does not strive, yet all things obey it. Mystery of mysteries, this force is the Mother of all things; mystery of mysteries, those who know it know the Eternal.
~ Laotse, found in THE SPIRITUAL ATHLETE edited by Ray Berry
