Why did the ancient Masters esteem the Tao?
Because, being one with the Tao,
when you seek, you find;
and when you make a mistake, you are forgiven.
That is why everybody loves it.
Tao te Ching
I walked in to the kitchen to find Charlie spinning in a slow circle. He paused once in a while, and then resumed his plodding ballerina twirl, eyes barely focused, hands hanging limp and dejected at his sides.
It was a familiar dance.
“What are you looking for?” I asked him.
“I KNOW what I’m looking for!” he snapped in nonsequitorial frustration. This, too, was familiar. He hates his stereotypical inability to find things in a house in which he’s lived for several years now.
“I know you do, honey. But if you tell me, I can help you find it.”
He gruffed for a second and, resigned, started making hand gestures. Apparently not only was the item hiding from him, the words to describe it were equally elusive. I would worry about Alzheimers or some sort of stress-induced dementia, except this has been his way since he was young. I just nodded along to the rhythm of the silent music his hands were conducting until he could find the name hiding in the misty ether-void of his mind.
Eventually he began a proximity of those mouth noises the rest of us call “words.” “I want the knife. The knife I like. The one with the…” he trailed off, making a zig-zag gesture with his finger.
I know which knife he likes. Just like I know which socks he will always grab first from the drawer and his preferred order of actions in making coffee. Marriage does that over time. I needed no further explanation. I walked to the sink in front of him, retrieved his favorite serrated knife from the drying rack, and handed it to him.
He walked over to the counter in front of the knife block filled with other knives (but not that one he likes with the zigzaggy goodness) and began slicing an orange.
I wonder how deep a trench our kitchen floor might have suffered had I not walked in when I did. Survival is tricky.
(usual disclaimer: there is still nobody I would rather be sheltered-in-place with than this kooky man. He is my gift and my everlasting joy. But as my sister-in-law says: “for better or worse, but not for lunch!”)
Up the Tao Staircase 