Circling Through Life, Staying In The Center

My fascination with circles dates back to the early nineties. At the time, I was living in Indianapolis, working for a healthcare leadership team at a hospital just south of the city. 

For years, Indy has been affectionately known as the “Circle City,” an ode to its infamous Monument Circle in the heart of downtown. This circular street features the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, a proud symbol of the city center, replete with four bronze statues commemorating iconic Indiana figures, two water pools, and a majestic view of the Indiana state capital in the distance.

Just a short trek from 96th and Meridian in Indy where I was living at the time is the town of Carmel, which has more circular roundabouts than any other U.S. city in the nation. These vehicular circles have been widely regarded for decades as an efficient means for moving traffic in and out of thoroughfares. 

Each of these circles feature a calm epicenter that the car traffic navigates around. In other words, this middle core serves as the foundational grounding point from which the circular motion of cars to take place.  

Using a storm analogy, the center is like the calm eye of a hurricane where the convergence of strong surface winds never reaches it. The lower the central pressure, the more pronounced the storm, with the eye walls serving as the most dangerous part. 

Yet, the eye of the storm, its epicenter, remains relatively calm and peaceful 

In Taoism, we often reference the image of the circle and how peace and harmony are found in the center. We believe that the chasing of desires is what keeps us on the edge, focused on our peculiar notion of how we would like things to be versus the way they are. 

As Chapter 39 of the Tao Te Ching notes:

“If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich. If you stay at the center, you will endure forever.” 

Since the Tao is the natural rhythm of the world, our aim should be to stay grounded and centered in it. To align and sync with it.

We Taoists call this Wu Wei, a term that could be best defined as effortless action. In other words, no forceful movement is required. Rather, yielding is the way of the Tao, akin to obeying a yield sign when entering a roundabout of circulating cars.  

This message underlies the importance of staying “centered” in our thoughts, feelings, and emotions in our encounters with the circle of life. To remain calm amid trying circumstances by letting go of desires and judgements.

By surrendering to the perfect order of nature, we recognize that the Universe is being beautifully orchestrated in its unfolding. We let go and allow perfect order to take its course in the calm center of our inner existence. 

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