11 March TAO (North Hemisphere)- INDEPENDENCE

                                                      Today's verse is my favourite verse

' A solitary crane

In winter snow

    Needs no jewels.'

To be frank, I always thought this verse talked about a crane as in a machine. You would after reading the following lines:

' A single crane standing unconcerned in the falling snow is the very image of independence.'

(Source: 365 Tao Daily Meditations, Deng Ming-Dao, p. 70.)

Well, those cranes can be beautiful too and stand alone without jewels. Therefore, they too can be independent.

But, what is independence? Independence is being plane; it is being who you are. We might think our desires and our possessions define us. However, this is not the case. Indeed, out identity characterises who we are- it is our nature. Therefore, we are an individual. This makes us independent.

Relying on others or asking for help does not make us any less independent, for this is part of being human. We were taught to speak and communicate which makes us smart, but does not take away our independence.

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