Care.
(In short) “to care for others is to look after and nourish them.”
It is natural to care for others. If you are the one dispensing the care, then do it happily. It is really good fortune to have someone to love and to have someone who loves you.
From animals to sages, there is care. A mother tiger, for example, will take care of her cubs. An older brother will look after the younger. Even in the temples, one monk looks after another. And the sages often looked after one another. Let us not be so concerned with our own practice that we do not look after others.
All is Tao anyway. Who is to say that the only way to be enlightened is to be sealed in a cave? Tao is movement. Tao is diverse. Our purpose is not to look in the Tao of books. Our purpose is to look for the Tao of our lives. If you have people you are in relationships with, then look after them. Not because you owe it to them. Not because it is the right thing to do. Not because you will get something in return. But because it is part of who you are.
-- Source: Everyday Tao: Living with Balance and Harmony, by Deng Ming-Dao.
