Follow the Floor Lighting

You likely recognize these words. It’s from the safety announcement we all sit through every time we’re on an airplane. “In the unlikely event of an emergency... follow the floor lighting…” It somehow reassures us about two things at the same time. First, that an emergency is an unlikely event. Second, that if it were to happen, then someone somewhere has already thought about what we might need.

I listened to this announcement recently and found myself wondering how it might apply more generally. What’s the floor lighting in the course of a human life? And, if I knew what it was, would I find it similarly reassuring? This newsletter explores some answers.

I’ll start by jumping to the end. I think the floor lighting in our lives is there all the time. We just don’t tend to see it until we find ourselves in the dark. And even then, we often don’t see it although it’s right in front of us. Bottom line: yes, we can feel reassured—just like I felt in the airplane. Now let’s back up. If each of those three earlier sentences are dots, then I have to admit they’re a bit far apart. So, let’s connect them; one at a time.

First, how is the floor lighting in our lives there all the time? I think the light is there all the time until we block it; and often we do. That’s when we find ourselves in the dark. So, how do we block the light? By letting ourselves get in the way. I think we do it every time we refuse to accept the world as it is and believe all that matters is that it should conform to our idea of what it should be.

Here's Lao Tzu on the subject. “If you accept the world, the Tao will be luminous inside you…” (chapter 28). And how do we accept the world? Simply by letting go of our ideas of the way the world “should” be. “The Master keeps her mind always at one with the Tao; that is what gives her her radiance” (chapter 21). Does the Master now do nothing? Not at all. He (or she) simply doesn’t let himself get in the way. “Therefore the Master acts without doing anything and teaches without saying anything. Things arise and she lets them come; things disappear and she lets them go” (chapter 2).

It’s when we don’t let things come, and when we don’t let them go, that we block the light. And we do that every time we let our mind cling to our idea of the way things “should” be. Here’s what letting go looks like. “The Master allows things to happen. She shapes events as they come. She steps out of the way and lets the Tao speak for itself” (chapter 45). How does she do that? By keeping “her mind always at one with the Tao.” In short, the light is there all the time; the Master simply doesn’t get in the way.

Second, why don’t we tend to see the floor lighting until we find ourselves in the dark? I think the answer is because we make the mistake of thinking we are the source of the light. Hmm, that sounds a bit judgmental (after all, the word “mistake” is a loaded word). What I mean is that we often act as though what we have in mind is all that matters. Well, even that’s a bit judgmental. I’ll speak for myself. I often act as though what I have in mind is all that matters. Yes, that’s better. And what happens when I do that?

The answer is I sometimes find myself in the dark when the world refuses to bend itself to my wishes and expectations. And by “in the dark” I mean I experience stress, confusion, conflict, sorrow, not being at peace with the world, not being at ease in my life. I think you know what I mean.

Third, why don’t we see the floor lighting even though it’s right in front of us? I think the answer is because we’re looking in the wrong place. We think we’ll be in the light when everything out there in our world is the way it “should” be. Trouble is we often don’t seem to realize that this will seldom happen. First, whether we like it or not, everything changes. Second, the notion of change also applies to whatever our desires of the moment may be—they change too. All the time.

As soon as we satisfy one desire (assuming that we succeed) then another one pops up to take its place. In fact, another desire pops up regardless of whether or not we succeed in satisfying the first one. The result is that we’re never done. We’re continually on the move. You might ask, where do we think we’re going?

Here's Lao Tzu. “Thus the Master travels all day without leaving home. However splendid the views, she stays serenely in herself... If you let yourself be blown to and fro, you lose touch with your root. If you let restlessness move you, you lose touch with who you are” (chapter 26). Lao Tzu’s Master isn’t going anywhere. So what’s the message here?

I think the message is that chasing after the desire of the moment is like being blown to and fro. And when we do that, we lose touch with who we are. The light comes from being at one with who we are (and with everything else for that matter). That’s why we don’t see the floor lighting even though it’s right in front of us.

In conclusion, I think the floor lighting is there all the time. It’s inside us all the time. It’s everywhere. When we don’t see it, we’re simply looking in the wrong place. “Use your own light and return to the source of light. This is called practicing eternity” (chapter 52).

The announcement in the aircraft typically ends with the words “Sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight.” I think Lao Tzu is saying the same thing with the following observation. “If you close your mind in judgments and traffic with desires, your heart will be troubled. If you keep your mind from judging and aren’t led by the senses, your heart will find peace” (chapter 52). Stress, confusion, conflict, sorrow—that’s what the dark looks like. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight. Enjoy peace.

In closing, while I’m still playing with the flight metaphor, what exactly is the “flight”? Well, I’ll stick my neck way out and suggest Lao Tzu gives us a pretty good clue with the following lines. “Every being in the universe is an expression of the Tao. It springs into existence, unconscious, perfect, free, takes on a physical body, lets circumstances complete it. That is why every being spontaneously honors the Tao. The Tao gives birth to all beings, nourishes them, maintains them, cares for them, comforts them, protects them, takes them back to itself, creating without possessing, acting without expecting, guiding without interfering. That is why love of the Tao is in the very nature of things” (chapter 51).

It’s a long quote, I know, but I think what it means is that we get to be the expression of the Tao for the length of one human lifetime. That’s the “flight,” as it were. At least, that’s the way it seems to me. How about you? Have you ever experienced the floor lighting? If so, how did you recognize it?

If you have any thoughts you’d like to share, you can get in touch with me by:

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Thanks for reading. Please feel free to share this newsletter.

Francis

IN OTHER NEWS...

Past newsletters are here: www.francispringmill.com/newsletter-archive

In Harmony with the Tao: A Guided Journey into the Tao Te Ching is available here. There Is No Somewhere Else: Insights from the Tao Te Ching is available here.

Synopses and reviews for both books are on www.francispringmill.com/books

If you have enjoyed my books and have a spare couple of minutes, I'd love it if you could leave an Amazon review so more people can discover them. (The customer review link for In Harmony with the Tao is here, and for There Is No Somewhere Else is here.)