Welcome to this week’s installment of the Toon-Te-Ching. Each week we are taking one of the 81 verses of the Tao-Te-Ching, pairing it with a toon and connecting the teaching to our work life.
6th Verse
The spirit that never dies is called the mysterious feminine.
Although she becomes the whole universe, her immaculate purity is never lost.
Although she assumes countless forms, her true identity remains intact.
The gateway to the mysterious female is called the root of creation.
Listen to her voice, hear it echo through creation.
Without fail, she reveals her presence.
Without fail, she brings us to our own perfection.
Although it is invisible, it endures; it will never end.
Right before I wrote this week’s post, someone sent me the recent Pixar short, Purl. This is a great little film that sums up the struggle and value of women in the workplace. Spoiler alert: it also depicts the 6th verse of the Tao.
The Year of the Woman. This verse is apropos to the year of the woman. We are seeing a large influx of women in positions of power. But what does it all mean? Some would have you believe that we need to lower performance to make room for women. This verse expresses the opposite. The verse links the power of creation to feminine power.
Businesses need Creation. First, let’s draw a link between creation and creativity. Both come from the same root word, “to create” and both are feminine qualities. As a society, we have compartmentalized creativity (feminine) separate from survival (masculine). Women create life, and men go and survive. The women that have engaged in survival, have often forgone creation. This is why mature businesses wither, they are surviving but not creating, there is no spawn. A business, like a society, needs to survive and create new. When there is no feminine energy at work, there is no creation.
Feminine power is accessible by men. Feminine energy is accessible by men as well as women. Men in business have traditionally suppressed their feminine energy.
Translation credit: Dyer, Wayne. Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao (p. 28). Hay House. Kindle Edition.
