Tao Te Ching – Chapter Forty-Nine
Written by Lao-tzu – From a translation by S. Mitchell
The Master has no mind of her own.
She works with the mind of the people.
She is good to people who are good.
She is also good to people who aren't good.
This is true goodness.
She trusts people who are trustworthy.
She also trusts people who aren't trustworthy.
This is true trust.
The Master's mind is like space.
People don’t understand her.
They look to her and wait.
She treats them like her own children.
How I Read This Chapter
The one who walks the Way,
does not divide the world into worthy and unworthy.
They are good to all,
not because they deserve it,
but because goodness is who they are.
They trust not just the trustworthy,
but even those who have broken trust,
because they remember,
how far they have come.
Their mind is open like the sky.
Doesn’t cling to opinions.
They listen.
They wait.
They love.
This is the power of true recovery:
to meet others where they are,
and treat them like they matter.
Because they do.
What This Means To Me
This chapter reminds me of how far I’ve come in how I view others – and myself. In addiction, I lived in judgment: always sizing people up, keeping score, measuring worth. If someone hurt me, they were written off. If someone lied, they weren’t safe. My world was divided into good and bad, safe and unsafe. But that’s because I judged myself just as harshly. I didn’t trust me, so how could I trust you?
But recovery, and especially the Twelve Steps, have changed that. When I walked into my first meeting, I expected to be shamed or dismissed. Instead, I was welcomed. I was trusted with the kettle before I trusted myself not to drink. People were good to me – not because I’d earned it, but because that’s what they do. That’s what we do.
“She is good to people who aren’t good. This is true goodness.” I think of all the people who were patient with me when I didn’t deserve it. Who sat with me in my shame and reminded me I belonged. They weren’t good to me because I was good – they were good because they were grounded in something deeper. That’s what I try to pass on now. When a newcomer shows up full of excuses or anger, I don’t need to correct them. I need to love them. Because that’s what changed me.
“She trusts people who aren’t trustworthy. This is true trust.” That used to confuse me. Why trust someone who lies or steals or relapses? But I see it differently now. This isn’t blind trust – it’s spiritual trust. Trust in the process. Trust that people can grow. Trust that we’re more than our worst day. I don’t trust behaviour – I trust potential. Because someone once trusted mine.
“The Master’s mind is like space.” That line feels like Step Ten and Step Eleven together. It’s not about having all the answers. It’s about staying open. Listening instead of reacting. Responding instead of defending. I don’t need to cling to being right. I just need to stay present, with a spacious heart and a quiet mind.
“People don’t understand her… She treats them like her own children.” That reminds me of sponsorship, and of the old-timers I look up to. They don’t always explain themselves. They just show up, tell the truth, and keep loving people through the mess. They treat us with patience, like we matter – especially when we don’t believe it ourselves. That’s the energy of recovery. That’s the Tao in action.
Today, I don’t need to label people as good or bad. I don’t need to decide who deserves kindness. I can offer it freely, because it was given to me. I can hold space for others, because space was held for me.
And in that, I become just a little more like the Master. Not by trying to be perfect, but by being willing to love anyway.
