Returning with Reverence: How One Form Can Last a Lifetime

“In the Taoist sense, diligence is about returning again and again to something with steady reverence.” —365 Days of Dao by Dae Lee

Merriam-Webster defines diligence as the “earnest and persistent application of effort.” In other words, work harder, practice longer, push through difficulties. But in a Taoist context, diligence is much softer. It isn’t forceful persistence. It’s the willingness to return.

Every time we practice a form, we’re not just repeating movements. We’re returning to a relationship.

A beginner returns because they haven’t memorized the sequence. An experienced practitioner returns because they know they haven’t exhausted it.

Reverence doesn't mean treating the form as something mystical or supernatural. It’s approaching it with enough humility to believe it still has something to teach you. It’s resisting the temptation to say, “I already know this one.”

The ego wants novelty. It wants another form, another technique, another accomplishment.

The Tao whispers:

Stand once more in the opening posture.

Shift your weight with care.

Notice the breath you overlooked yesterday.

Feel where you are holding tension today.

Discover that a movement you've performed a thousand times suddenly, somehow, feels completely different. 

That is diligence.

Not rushing toward mastery, but trusting that the path continues to unfold, as you return, again and again, with steady reverence. 

⸻

Practical application: What does “steady reverence” look like in practice?

It might mean:

• Beginning each practice with the attitude that there is something you haven’t yet discovered.

• Moving intentionally, even through familiar sections.

• Respecting the transitions as much as the postures.

• Letting go of the need to perform. 

• Accepting that today’s practice may be about becoming present rather than becoming better.

Steady reverence says:

“This form is worthy of my full attention today, even if I’ve practiced it a thousand times.”

That mindset transforms repetition into discovery.

--Rhiannon