Being in balance with your environment. (Taoism, story from R. Wilhelm, early 20th century)
Balance means being in harmony with our environment. How we are inside reflects how things are around us and vice versa. Here in the west we find it hard to believe we are one with our environment. Individualistic, separate and dualistic is more our favorite way to think. But in many ancient cultures our believe system was different. We were believed to be one with the nature, humans and animals surrounding us, one in one great energy field, living together in a balanced way. Today we still find these believes in shamanistic practices. Taoism also stems from shamanistic practices and beliefs. In the story below we see a beautiful and inspiring example of Taoism. This story was told by C. Jung who heard it from R. Wilhelm, the great translator of the I Tjing and writer of The secret of the Golden Flower. As a missionary in China Wilhelm witnessed an event that took place during a drought lasting for months in a Chinese village he was visiting. This story dates back to the beginning of