Thoughts From the Tao-te Ching by Lao-Tzu

Thoughts From the Tao-te Ching by Lao-Tzu

It was quoted in the "Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching" by Lao-Tzu, a

notable writer who speaks much upon power and domination that, "there

is no greater illusion than fear,/ no greater wrong than preparing to

defend yourself,/ no greater misfortune than having an enemy" (26).

This is an ingenious concept, yet we all face fear everyday, for many

of us, it affects our way of life and the way we think and do things.

What is fear triggered by anyways? Is it the lack of trust in others,

or the natural tendency to be afraid of that which we do not know?

Whatever the explanation, I know why I have fear.

Back in the small, mountainous desert of Sparks, Nevada, during the

coldest winter to pass us by; many of my friends and I went out to hit

the town. The wind howled as it rushed through the neighborhood,

causing the trees to sway to and fro. Now we were all children of a

young age, thirteen to be exact, but we decided that we were

responsible enough to face the world beyond the next street. Upon

reaching our decision, we contemplated on where we should meet. It had

to be somewhere that we could all covertly escape without alarming any

of our families or neighbors. Oddly enough, everyone met at my house,

one by one, we all piled in to the living room and thankfully my mom

was sound asleep in the back room. As soon as everyone arrived, we

made our move, deceitfully making our way through the kitchen, which

was so eloquently decorated with metal sculptures of roosters and

chickens, we continued on to the door. As we turned the doorknob, we

could heard the most horrifying sound from the door, an old and ...

... middle of paper ...

...gone. We

found out that anything could happen at a moments notice; we learned

that day that we constantly need to be prepared and aware of our

surroundings. Fear is not always a weakness, but a strength, a feeling

that we encounter that allows us to be cautious. Our fear for the life

of one of our buddies was one of the biggest contributing factors that

made us four of the best friends ever. "Whoever can see through all

fear will always be safe" (Lao-Tzu 26), I argue that whoever can face

their known fears and prepare to take on the world in front of them

are the true people who will always be safe.

Works Cited

Lao-Tzu. "Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching." Trans Stephen Mitchell. A

World of Ideas:

Essential Readingsfor College Writers. 6th ed. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus.

Boston:

Bedford St. Martin's. 2002. 22-31