# A Gentle Meeting

By [jer979](https://paragraph.com/@jer979-2) · 2025-05-16

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I feel a sensation. I try to recognize what emotion it is and I try to sit with it.

But almost immediately, I start to name it, to categorize it, to explore it intellectually.

I recognize the “spiritual intellectual” shadow at work.

I hear the Dao De Jing, _“The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name.”_

I know there’s a better way.

Then I hear the “drill sergeant” shadow yelling at me, **“You’re supposed to just with it! Don’t name it, dammit!”**

I feel the frustration.

Then the cycle starts again.

It continues and I feel like a young kid who just can’t “get it right.”

But, at some point, for whatever reason, the cycle breaks.

Instead of the drill sergeant, someone else (I don’t know who and it doesn’t really matter) steps in and says

> “Hey bud, it’s ok. You’re giving it a shot. It’s going to take a long while. A very long while. Just be patient. You’re doing just fine.”

I feel the tension dissipate from my shoulders.

And I can enjoy a nice long cathartic exhalation.

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*Originally published on [jer979](https://paragraph.com/@jer979-2/a-gentle-meeting)*