“Losing “the way of life” people rely first on their fitness
Losing fitness they turn to kindness
Losing kindness they turn to justness
Losing justness they turn to convention
Conventions are fealty and honesty gone to waste
They are the entrance of disorder.”
Lao Tzu, in the Tao Teh Ching (The Way Of Life)
As legend has it, the Chinese sage, Lao Tzu, near the end of his life, saddened by society’s tragic perversity and its unwillingness to accept the “Tao, set out on a self-imposed exile. He rode on a water buffalo beyond the boundary of civilization. As he approached one of the last gates, a guard, who had dreamt of the coming of the sage, persuaded him to forego his lifelong resistance to write down any of his teachings. And so resulted the Tao Teh Ching, which has been passed down through the centuries.
Regretfully so, disillusionment with society’s tragic perversity is alive and well twenty-six centuries after Lao Tzu. However it is not without its exceptions: those working to model and lead society to a new community ethic rooted in a genuine respect for people and a symbiotic relationship with nature. One such enterprise is the Sacramento Natural Foods Coop (SNFC), a community-based food store, cooperatively owned, and at its core dedicated to public nourishment and learning.
