Tao Te Ching Part Thirteen 

“Accept disgrace willingly.
Accept misfortune as the human condition. 

What do you mean by “Accept disgrace willingly”?
Accept being unimportant.
Do not be concerned with loss or gain.
This is called “accepting disgrace willingly.” 

Our ego and pride get in the way of our contentment and often our relationships with family and friends. By ceasing our self obsession we are able to listen, understand, help and be more empathic and compassionate toward others.

“What do you mean by “Accept misfortune as the human condition”?
Misfortune comes from having a body.
Without a body, how could there be misfortune?”

Misfortune is a large part of the human condition, by accepting the bad with the good we are not making life more difficult by trying to avoid or run away from either. We need to embrace the challenges of life because they are what make us grow.

“Surrender yourself humbly; then you can be trusted to care for all things.
Love the world as your own self; then you can truly care for all things.”

If we learn to have faith in the Tao and yield to it, we become one with nature. When we are one with it we care for everyone and everything the same as we care for ourselves.

This is true harmony.