“Simplicity, patience and compassion are your greatest treasure”

Said by Lao Tzu, Chinese master, and author of the book The Tao.

The Tao is translated as The way of virtue, it's a religion and a philosophy in China.

The Tao is all about letting go, about being in the flow. I remember I didn't like this book when I first started learning about it.  We come from such a linear way of thinking where doing is everything. Accomplishing is seen as a synonym of productivity. So reading about simplicity, patience and compassion sounded to me like laziness, like you're not taking responsibility for your life.

But let's dive in a little deeper. I know that if you're reading this is because you know there's more than a shallow meaning behind this philosophy.

One quote of The Tao goes like this… 

“Simplicity, patience, compassion.

These three are your greatest treasures.

Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.

Patient with both friends and enemies,

you accord with the way things are.

Compassionate toward yourself,

you reconcile all beings in the world.” 

 Let's begin talking about: 

Simplicity

I don’t know about you but when I hear the word Simplicity and I touch it with my heart, it makes me feel a lot calmer. Sometimes we struggle, we suffer, and things get so difficult for us because we over-complicate everything.

 Simplicity is the art of letting go of the clutter.

You've probably heard of Marie Kondo. She became very popular with her approach to organizing and letting go of the clutter of your house. And it's beautiful when we do it in our home, but it's a lot more profound when we do it in our minds.

So why do we overcomplicate things so much? Well… It usually comes from fear. Fear tends to put us in this mindset that things are more complicated than they are. I'm not denying that what's occurring in your life is difficult. I know you could be going through hardship. What I'm saying is that there's always a space where you can find a vibration of simplicity. An opportunity to go within and ask your heart: What's my next move? 

As the book The One Thing says:

If you focus your attention on just one thing, you can spark the light in your life that will help you find the solutions you need. 

So what is the one thing for you? What can you simplify in your life?

Can you simplify the way that you think? Can you simplify your surroundings? 

When you take 100% responsibility for the complexity of your mind and look for simplicity, you will see that the answer is always there. The problem is that when there's a lot of clutter in your mind, you can't see things! So, begin by decluttering your mind. Like Lao Tzu says, “Simple in actions and thoughts”.

 Simplify!  

Patience

Lao Tzu says, “patience with both friends and enemies”, and I would add, patience with yourself, with life!

 Many times, when you want to manifest things in life, you do your vision boards, you do the inner work, you try to keep your frequency up, you try to be positive. And yet, nothing happens!

You do everything but you're not manifesting anything. You struggle with your business, you don’t find the love partner you want for your life. And you wonder, when is life going to give me a break?

Patience! Patience is the art of peace. Patience because there's always something going on.

 Sometimes the Universe works backstage. It's our duty to stay patient knowing that when the time is right, things will emerge. And let me tell you this, patience takes courage. It takes courage to stand strong, taking one step after the other. Trusting that although things aren't happening yet, you keep showing up knowing that when the time is perfect, a miracle will happen.

Compassion

 “Compassionate toward yourself”. 

Lao Tzu says compassion for yourself. Start with self and you will have compassion towards others. 

Now, this doesn't mean that you don't set healthy boundaries or that you accept disrespect. Compassion means that you understand that hurt people, hurt people. But also, that healed people, heal people.

You have compassion with self when you have fallen off the wagon. You have compassion for the other when the other cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. When the other is hurting and complaining. You have compassion because you have a deep understanding of what pain is, of what it means to be in the dark night of the soul.

Compassion is having a deep understanding.

So which of these three qualities do you need in your life the most?

 I want to invite you to do this simple heart-breathing technique to find your answer to this question. 

Read how it goes and then find a quiet space to go within and connect with your heart. It will take you two minutes. 

I hope this simple breathing technique shines some light upon your life. Do this every time you need to know what your next step is.

The heart is a wise teacher that has the answers to all your questions.

Take two minutes to go within and listen to that wisdom. 

Don't overcomplicate things. Remember to find ways to simplify things, to be patient, and compassionate. These qualities are your greatest treasure. 

Have a blessed day.