Tao Te What Now? (Chapters 19-21)
A slightly unhinged walkthrough of the Tao Te Ching
So you’ve decided to read the Tao Te Ching.
Either you’re seeking peace, chasing enlightenment, trying to out-vibe your therapist, or you just like obscure philosophy that makes you feel smart and dumb at the same time.
Good news: you’re in the right place.
Bad news: it won’t help you get your life together in the way you think it will.
Better news: it might show you that you never had to in the first place.
This ancient Chinese text, written by Laozi around 2,500 years ago, is basically a poetic mic drop about the nature of reality, control, ego, and why trying hard often makes things worse. It’s short, mysterious, non-linear, and aggressively subtle. You won’t get it all on the first read. That’s part of the charm. It’s also part of the test. Which you are not supposed to try to pass.
About This “Cursed” Interpretation
We’re going to go through each chapter, one by one.
Instead of solemn chanting or incense or “sitting with it in silence,”
We’re going to translate it for actual humans with internet-fried brains, executive dysfunction, and a fondness for sarcasm.
Disclaimers:
We love the Tao. We also enjoy poking fun at ourselves while getting deep. That’s the spirit this was written in.
If you're looking for academic accuracy or lineage-specific devotion… this isn’t that.
If you're spiritually curious, allergic to self-serious gurus, and suspicious of people who wear too much linen—welcome home.
Chapter 19
Burn the Rulebook, Find the Peace
Toss out holiness and wisdom?
Suddenly, everyone chills out and stops pretending they’re better than each other.
(No more LinkedIn humblebrags about “servant leadership.”)
Drop morality and justice?
People start acting decent again, without needing to sit through another Workplace Conflict Training video…
Cancel industry and profit?
Now you don’t have to chain your soul to a quarterly report or bolt your bike to a lamppost with three locks and a prayer.
Still not enough?
Fine.
Then do this:
Go sit at the center of the chaos, the still point, the empty middle.
Let life do what it does.
TL;DR: Scrap the fake rules. Sit down. Breathe. Let the Tao run the show. It’s been doing this for a long time.
Chapter 20
Must You Care About Stuff Just Because Everyone Else Does?
Stop thinking.
Seriously.
Stop. Thinking.
That’s where all your problems are.
“Yes vs no”? “Winning vs failing”?
Same trash, different ego.
You’re trying to impress people who don’t even like themselves.
Why are you pretending to care what they care about?
Yawn.
Everyone else?
They're building "personal brands" with Canva and tears
They’re crushing productivity podcasts on 2x speed
They’re biohacking their gut flora with imported mushroom dust
They’re hash-tagging their breathwork
Me?
I forgot my face somewhere back there.
I’m floating around like an emotionally stable tumbleweed.
I feel like a confused baby who hasn’t been assigned a personality yet.
They’ve got goals. I’ve got nothing.
They sparkle. I’m fog in sweatpants.
They talk about purpose. I talk to birds.
They know where they’re going. I drift like a grocery bag in the wind, and I’m vibing baby.
And yeah—I’m drinking cosmic milk straight from the Tao’s metaphysical nipple.
Sorry. Not sorry.
I’m nourished. I’m weird… and I feel fine.
You can take your productivity planner and jam it.
TL;DR; If being clueless means you’re free, then call me lost, baby. I don’t belong at your parade. I’m already home.
Chapter 21
She Glows Because She’s Not Trying to Glow
The Sage shines. Not because she’s trying, but because she’s synced up with the Tao like it’s spiritual 5G.
Hold up.. you said the Tao is ungraspable. No shape. No form. No “add to cart.”
So how is her mind one with it?
Because she stopped clutching at thoughts like they were admission tickets for enlightenment.
She doesn't chase understanding. She doesn’t fight the darkness. She lets it in. She lets it be.
And that’s where the light comes from. not from knowing, but from not needing to know.
The Tao was here before clocks.
Before matter. Before language or opinions or whatever you tweeted last night.
It’s not about “is” or “isn’t.” It just isn’t …not.
And how do I know this? Not from a TED Talk. Not from a book.
Not from a Substack..or a Mindfulness App.
I know because I looked inward...and what I found wasn’t an answer,
it was a presence. And it didn’t need explaining.
TL;DR: The Tao can’t be known, but it can be lived. And deep down, you already feel what that means.
To Be Continued..