Tao Te Ching – Chapter Twenty-Three
Written by Lao-tzu – From a translation by S. Mitchell
Express yourself completely,
then keep quiet.
Be like the forces of nature:
when it blows, there is only wind;
when it rains, there is only rain;
when the clouds pass, the sun shines through.
If you open yourself to the Tao,
you are at one with the Tao
and you can embody it completely.
If you open yourself to insight,
you are at one with insight
and you can use it completely.
If you open yourself to loss,
you are at one with loss
and you can accept it completely.
Open yourself to the Tao,
then trust your natural responses;
and everything will fall into place.
How I Read This Chapter
Speak your truth,
then rest in silence.
Let your life be like the weather:
when it’s bad, let it be bad;
when it passes, enjoy the good.
No forcing.
No pretending.
Just presence.
When I open to the Way,
I don’t have to act it out,
I simply become it.
When I open to pain,
I don’t have to hide,
I allow it to be what it is.
When I open to insight,
I don’t have to prove anything,
I just let it guide me.
Trust the process.
Trust your nature.
Let go,
and things will align.
What This Means To Me
This chapter reminds me that recovery is not about constantly fixing myself—it’s about learning how to be. In addiction, I was never still. My mind raced, my emotions surged, and my actions were often reactions. I clung to control, to masks, to noise. Even when I was quiet, it was the silence of suppression, not serenity.
But this teaching offers a different way: “Express yourself completely, then keep quiet.” That line feels like Step Five and Step Six in motion. Tell the truth. Let it all out. And then—stop. Rest. Trust. Don’t keep digging. Don’t keep performing. Let honesty be enough.
The image of nature is powerful. Wind doesn’t apologise for blowing. Rain doesn’t try to be sunshine. Each part of nature is fully itself—no more, no less. This is how I want to live in recovery: not in performance, but in presence. To be what I am, in the moment I am in. If I’m joyful, let it shine. If I’m grieving, let it rain. And when the storm passes—let it pass.
“If you open yourself to loss… you can accept it completely.” That line hits deep. I spent my worst year running from the loss of my mum—through drink, denial, distraction. But in recovery, I’ve had to sit with what I once tried to erase: lost time, lost trust, lost self, and most of all that my mum was no longer there to catch me when I fell. And something beautiful has emerged in that space—not despair, but acceptance. Not regret, but renewal. Loss, when opened to, becomes part of the healing.
And this: “Open yourself to the Tao, then trust your natural responses.” That is the heart of Step Eleven for me. Through prayer and meditation, I connect—not so I can control life, but so I can meet it as I am. I don’t have to second-guess every choice or over-analyse every emotion. If I stay open, if I stay honest, something wiser than me moves through me. And that something—call it Tao, God, Spirit—knows what to do.
Today, I practice this:
Speak from the heart, then let silence hold the rest.
Let my sadness rain.
Let my joy shine.
Let life move through me, just as it is.
I open myself to the Way, not to escape life, but to embrace it completely.
And when I do, I find that everything really does begin to fall into place.
