The wind and the tree hollows

Imagine an enormous storm wind blowing through a deep forest. As the wind passes old, hollow trees, different sounds arise. Some hollows sound like thundering roars, others like shrill whistles, some like sighs and others like laughter.

The wind is the same everywhere – that is the Dao. But because every tree has its own unique shape – that is Ziran – they all produce different melodies in the universe's great symphony.

The lesson: Each of us is a unique instrument. Our purpose is not to sound like the tree next to us, but to let the Dao blow freely through our own particular form.