Today’s evening meditation is available below in audio and script formats. The audio version is also available for free download on the player.

Reading

Nothing in the world
is as soft and yielding as water.
Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible,
nothing can surpass it.

The soft overcomes the hard;
the gentle overcomes the rigid.
Everyone knows this is true,
but few can put it into practice.

Therefore the Master remains
serene in the midst of sorrow.
Evil cannot enter his heart.
Because he has given up helping,
he is people's greatest help.

True words seem paradoxical.

—The Tao Te Ching

Commentary

Water as a metaphor for space and time.

The material world exists within an immaterial reality, and so nothing can take its place—it’s foundational. The foundation must lie submissively quiet and be the bedrock of existence.

This is a good model for parents to govern kids, and to not lose their cool and squabble.

That the soft overcomes the hard is like sleep overcoming wakefulness. Trying to put this into practice is like trying to sleep—I just get insomnia.

Sleep only comes through letting go. This is the opposite of trying to do something.

—D.C. Lau

Quiet

As your day draws to a close, spend a few moments in silence and stillness.

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Abbreviations

BC The Belgic Confession

CAC The Center For Action & Contemplation

CD The Canons of Dort

CIB Church In Bethesda Prayers

DZ - Donna Z.

HC The Heidelberg Catechism

MAO - Michael A. O’Sullivan

NT The New Testament

OT The Old Testament

RP - Ryan Phipps

WC The Westminster Confession

WLB Words To Live By

WLC The Westminster Larger Catechism

WSC The Westminster Shorter Catechism

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