Taoism's just the best thing. For example it teaches that nothing in life is black and white. Or I should say, everything is black and white.
There is nothing that is 100% good. Or 100% bad. Everything contains some good and some bad. Mother Theresa wasn't all saint, she used to like killing flies. Adolf Hitler was a monster, but he was kind to dogs and even kids.
A contemporary example: many people convince themselves that George Bush is satan. Others will argue that he's the saviour of Western civilisation. Bring together two people with these two opposing views, and they'll argue till doomsday about which view is correct.
To a Taoist, such argument is a waste of time: because everything is partly good and partly bad, Bush must be part satan and part saviour of Western civilisation.
Actually, I wish I hadn't chosen Bush as an example, since no-one, except perhaps his wife, has actually found his redeeming qualities. But logically they must exist!
A less confusing example: about 20 years ago, a clairvoyant said to me "you love your father, don't you?" My immediate answer was: "no, I hate him."
I do hate him. But I have gradually come to accept that I hate him, and I love him.
He was a vain self-centred bully, and he taught me advanced driving skills that have probably saved my life.
He bashed and humiliated me in public, yet when I broke my brand-new Gene Autry rifle by using it as a cricket bat, he was my hero when he took it back to the shop and demanded a replacement.
You see? Taoists don't waste their time figuring out whether something is bad or good.
One more example. I prefer not to eat tomatoes, because they're from the deadly nightshade family of plants, and are very mildly toxic. But if I tell people this, they tend to respond with "but tomatoes are great, they're full of vitamin C!" It doesn't occur to them that something can be good for you and bad for you. All-or-nothing thinking - it always leads to arguments.
PS when I was googling for "yin yang photo", one of the images that came up was this. Taoism was never like that in my day. What is spirituality coming to?
