True Sounds Are Rarely Heard, True Forms Are Invisible

I love this phrase, from Laozi’s Tao Te Ching, Chapter 40.

Taken literally: the greatest sounds are sparse and faint; the most vast and magnificent things are beyond our grasp.

But my interpretation is, “great sounds” do make noise, only they’re so huge that our limited hearing can’t perceive them; “great forms” do have shape, only they’re so immense our limited vision can’t see them.

For example, we can hear children shouting outside, a car engine starting, the roar of a rocket launch. But even greater sounds — the rotation of the Earth, the tectonic movements, the motion of celestial bodies — we can’t hear. Why? Human hearing is limited!

We can see towering mountains, vast oceans, but not beyond our planet. The universe is so large we can’t see it, though we can spot stars on a clear night. Why? Human vision is also extremely limited.

Yet we rely on these limited senses to understand the world, to judge, define, and conclude. Little do we realize how much of our “understanding” accumulated over time is incorrect, or even completely wrong. But admitting this is hard. Everyone prefers to acknowledge only the tangible. Society today recognizes only what’s profitable, what makes money. Little do we realize that what is unseen is also real.

This is why The Little Prince says, “What is essential is invisible to the eye.”

The Bible also says, “What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Why do some people, after making money, still feel an unfillable void? Because the Bible tells us, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.” Faith is needed to fill that gap.

Unknowingly, I’ve tied this to faith. I truly need faith. Everyone does. Including you.