When a cat falls out of a tree, it lets go of itself.  The cat becomes completely
relaxed, and lands lightly on the ground.  But if a cat were about to fall out of
a tree and suddenly make up its mind that it didn’t want to fall, it would become
tense and rigid, and would be just a bag of broken bones upon landing.  In the
same way, it is the philosophy of the Tao that we are all falling off a tree, at
every moment of our lives.  As a matter of fact, the moment we were born, we
were kicked off a precipice, and we are falling, and there is nothing that can
stop it.  So instead of living in a state of chronic tension, and clinging to all
sorts of things that are actually falling with us because the whole
world is impermanent, be like a cat.

Alan Watts

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Some people think they can find satisfaction in good food, fine clothes,
lively music, and sexual pleasure.  However, when they have all these things,
they are not satisfied.  They realize happiness is not simply having their
material needs met.  Thus, society has set up a system of rewards that go
beyond material goods.  These include titles, social recognition, status, and
political power, all wrapped up in a package called self-fulfillment.  Attracted
by these prizes and goaded on by social pressure, people spend their short lives
tiring body and mind to chase after these goals.  Perhaps this gives them the
feeling that they have achieved something in their lives, but in reality they have
sacrificed a lot in life.  They can no longer see, hear, act, feel, or think from
their hearts.  Everything they do is dictated by whether it can get them social
gains.  In the end, they've spent their lives following other people's demands
and never lived a life of their own.  How different is this
from the life of a slave or a prisoner?

Lieh-tzu
A Taoist Guide to Practical Living

A beam or pillar can be used to batter down a city wall, but it is no good
for stopping up a little hole-- this refers to a difference in function.
Thoroughbreds like Qiji and Hualiu could gallop a thousand li in one day,
but when it came to catching rats they were no match for the wildcat or
the weasel-- this refers to a difference in skill.  The horned owl catches
fleas at night and can spot the tip of a hair, but when daylight comes, no
matter how wide it opens its eyes, it cannot see a mound or a hill-- this
refers to a difference in nature.  Now do you say, that you are going to make
Right your master and do away with Wrong, or make Order your master and
do away with Disorder?  If you do, then you have not understood the principle
of heaven and earth or the nature of the ten thousand things.  This is like
saying that you are going to make Heaven your master and do away with
Earth, or make Yin your master and do away with Yang.
Obviously it is impossible.

Zhuangzi
The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu

The clouds above us join and separate,
The breeze in the courtyard leaves and returns.
Life is like that, so why not relax?
Who can stop us from celebrating?

Lu Yu

The teaching of the Tao Te Ching is moral in the deepest sense. Unencumbered
by any concept of sin, the Master doesn’t see evil as a force to resist, but simply
as an opaqueness, a state of self-absorption which is in disharmony with the
universal process, so that, as with a dirty window, the light can’t shine through.

Stephen Mitchell

Having no destination, I am never lost.

Ikkyu

To light a candle is to cast a shadow.

Ursula K. Le Guin
A Wizard of Earthsea

If a man is crossing a river and an empty boat collides with his own skiff,
even though he be a bad-tempered man he will not become very angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat, he will shout at him to steer clear.  If the
shout is not heard, he will shout again, and yet again, and begin cursing.
And all because there is somebody in the boat.  Yet if the boat were empty,
he would not be shouting, and not angry.  If you can empty your own boat
crossing the river of the world, no one will oppose you, no one will seek to
harm you. . . . Who can free himself from achievement, and from fame,
descend and be lost amid the masses of people?  That person will flow
like Tao, unseen; they will go about like Life itself with no name and no
home.  Simple is he, without distinction.  To all appearances he is a fool.
His steps leave no trace.  He has no power.  He achieves nothing, has no
reputation.  Since he judges no one, no one judges him.
Such is the perfect man:  His boat is empty.

Osho Rajneesh

You'd be surprised how many people violate this simple principle every day
of their lives and try to fit square pegs into round holes, ignoring the clear
reality that Things Are As They Are. We will let a selection from the writings
of Chuang-tse illustrate:  Hui-tse said to Chuang-tse, "I have a large tree
which no carpenter can cut into lumber. Its branches and trunk are crooked
and tough, covered with bumps and depressions. No builder would turn his
head to look at it. Your teachings are the same - useless, without value.
Therefore, no one pays attention to them.
You complain that your tree is not valuable as lumber. But you could make use
of the shade it provides, rest under its sheltering branches, and stroll beneath
it, admiring its character and appearance. Since it would not be endangered by
an axe, what could threaten its existence? It is useless to you only because you
want to make it into something else and do not use it in its proper way.

Benjamin Hoff
The Tao of Pooh

We may be floating on Tao, but there is nothing wrong with steering.
If Tao is like a river, it is certainly good to know where the rocks are.

Den Ming-Dao
Everyday Tao:  Living with Balance and Harmony

To know the world, one must first know themselves.  Then they must
forget themselves.  Once they forgot both the world and themselves,
never again would they be moved by worldly gains and losses.

Meng Xi Shi
Thousand Autumns:  Qian Qiu

Travel is such a wonderful experience!  Especially when you forget you are
traveling.  Then you will enjoy whatever you see and do.  Those who look into
themselves when they travel will not think about what they see.  In fact, there is
no distinction between the viewer and the seen.  You experience everything with
the totality of yourself, so that every blade of grass, every mountain, every lake
is alive and is a part of you.  When there is no division between you and what is
other, this is the ultimate experience of traveling.

Liezi
Lieh-Tzu:  A Taoist Guide to Practical Living