What I believe, said best by Charlie Chaplin

Sometimes, something from the past can best embody one's beliefs. Of all the things of the past, two things define, and inspire me. Let's face the facts, nothing is new anymore, and all new originals are just patchworks of that which came before. The first is the words of Lao Tzu. Not one chapter comes to mind, but all 81 chapters of the Tao Te Ching, seems to be my own own thoughts on spirituality, written by someone else, some place else, and 2,600 years ago. I'm not a perfect Taoist, as I've never met a perfect Christian, (more times than not I forget the principles of Wu Wei). The second, is a speech by Charlie Chaplin. This was his first speaking role, in film. In it he plays both a parody of Hitler, and a Jewish Barber, at a time when no one in American Power wanted to even mention what was going on in Europe. He was called a traitor, and Communist, by his own countrymen. Later, when America went to war to fight the Nazis, he was praised for being a visionary, and hero. Anyways, in this scene, the nameless barber, and the Hitler character get mixed up, and one is mistaken for the other, and the barber gives the most inspiring speech ever spoken. Lately, folks have synced up this speech with Hans Zimmer's song "Time", from the film
Inception, and together, they prove that synchronicity exists, if synchronicity was ever in doubt. So without any further ado, here is two videos. One the digitally remastered film, "The Great Dictator", the other a motivational montage of greatness. I dare you not to be inspired! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPqd_9T5Zx4
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX25PDBb708

 

Yes, it too, makes me cry (with joy and hope) every time I watch it, and never gets old. Mr. Chaplin should have been a Senator. Just imagine the good he could have done. Sadly, America hated him at the time, and eventually had his visa revoked. Later, in the 1970's he was invited back to the U.S. to accept an Honorary Academy Award, only two years before his death. The person who presented him (I forget his name) quoted part of his speech. In this clip you can see and feel the emotion on his face. Enjoy...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Pl-qvA1X8
 
In Chaplin We Trust

 

As for Lao Tzu, and the Tao Te Ching, here's a link to the James Legge translation of the Tao Te Ching, http://www.sacred-texts.com/tao/taote.htm It's not the best translation, but it is the first (at least I think it's the first).I prefer the Stephen Mitchell or the Hua Ching Ni translations. There are many books in Taoism, but the story of Lao Tzu, and the book he left behind, deeply move me. The Story goes like this: Around 600 B.C.E. during the Warring States period of Chinese history, their was a wise man named Lao Tzu. He worked for the Kingdom of Zhou as the King's Archive keeper (a royal Librarian of sorts). He tried to talk to the King about a more spiritual way of living, and how best to serve his Kingdom, but the King wouldn't listen. Realizing that nobody in power would listen to his message, he 'became sick in the heart of the way of man' and decided to leave Zhou and headed out west, on the back of a buffalo, to try to find someone who might hear his message, of frugality, humility, and compassion. The night before he made it to the border, a young guard who was an astrologer saw in the heavens that a sage will be approaching, soon. When Lao Tzu met the guard at the gate, the guard recognized Lao Tzu as the sage, and begged him to leave behind a book of his teaching, so that it could be passed on. Lao Tzu agreed, and wrote down his thoughts for three days, then went on his way. The guard became the Taoist sage Wen Tzu (literally meaning 'young master') and was the world's first Taoist. Lao Tzu's real name was Li Er Dan. Lao Tzu literally mean 'old master'. Anyways, that the story as I've been told. It might be what the Chinese call 'wild history' like our Paul Bunyan, and Babe the blue ox, but regardless it's a good story. The facts are, The Tao Te Ching is a real book, that's 2,600 years old, and Kong Fu Tzu (or Confucius as we know him) wrote about Lao Tzu, claiming to have met him. Since Confucius can be proven to be a real person, who lived, it seems only logical that Lao Tzu was also a real man. Whew! That's alot of Taoism! Anyways, these two things best define my beliefs, Taoism and Charlie Chaplin.