The poems in the Tao Te Ching written by Lao Tsu, a Chinese philosopher, are about one being aware of one’s thoughts and feelings to achieve goodness within. When Tsu says, “I am alone without a place to go” and “Oh I drift like the waves of the sea,” (Tsu 1989, 22) in other words, sometimes we feel alone and not motivated to reach our goals in life. For example, we all meet challenges on our way to attaining our goals, such as taking a college test and getting a bad grade, while others like Tsu says, “are sharp and clever, but I alone am dull and stupid” (22). Others do great on the test because they are motivated. But confronting life challenges such as the college test will make you grow, you are not dull and stupid but living and growing by the experience that will make you a better person. To understand the reason why we sometimes are alone and not so sharp and clever we must be aware of our feelings and desires. You must want to do good in life for you to do good and feel good within yourself.…show more content… Then “when you are at one with virtue, the virtue is always there, “(25). Meaning the feeling of goodness is within yourself and will stay with you. Like when you pass a class test you feel good about yourself. Tsu compares the path of your spiritual life as the tough path of you facing the daily life challenges. When Tsu states, “having little to live on, one knows better than to value life too much,” (77) Tsu implies that those who have little desire to do good in life do not have to value life as much. But if one has big desires to do good, one must value life experiences that will make you grow until becoming fully
