No Words Unspoken

"The purpose of a fish trap is to catch fish, and when the fish are caught, the trap is forgotten.
The purpose of a rabbit snare is to catch rabbits. When the rabbits are caught, the snare is forgotten.
The purpose of words is to convey ideas. When the ideas are grasped, the words are forgotten.
When can I find a man who has forgotten words? He is the one I would like to talk to."

Chuang-Tzu

I struggle on a regular basis with memorization.  I struggled with learning music, because I couldn't remember words to a song.  I struggled learning history,  because I couldn't remember the dates of events.  I struggled with my work, because I couldn't remember everything I did during the day.  These were constant burdens upon me, failings I could not overcome.

Yet as I meditate upon wisdom and knowledge, I realize something.  I may not memorize all the details, I may not know the exact words, but I do understand the subject.  I came to the understanding that as I wander along my path with Tao, all beings should be judged upon their own merit, not in comparison with others.  I may not know the words spoken by my ancestors, but I understand their lessons.

Knowing a thousand things is trivial, understanding a thousand things is walking the path to divinity.  Knowledge is gained through simple tasks, oft lauded as the most important thing, yet only by those that have knowledge.  This is a flawed path, as those with knowledge want others around themselves to judge, just so they can be better than another. 

Eliminate competition, eliminate envy, eliminate the drive for knowing everything, strive to understand, strive to find worth in everything, strive to find peace in the universe, how you weigh yourself in this world is the thing that will bring you joy or sadness. 

Forget the words of the worlds and understand the music of the soul.