Black Boys Play the Classics By Toi Derricotte

 Black Boys Play the Classics

By Toi Derricotte

The most popular “act” in

Penn Station

is the three black kids in ratty

sneakers & T-shirts playing

two violins and a cello—Brahms.

White men in business suits

have already dug into their pockets

as they pass and they toss in

a dollar or two without stopping.

Brown men in work-soiled khakis

stand with their mouths open,

arms crossed on their bellies

as if they themselves have always

wanted to attempt those bars.

One white boy, three, sits

cross-legged in front of his

idols—in ecstasy—

their slick, dark faces,

their thin, wiry arms,

who must begin to look

like angels!

Why does this trembling

pull us?

A: Beneath the surface we are one.

B: Amazing! I did not think that they could speak this tongue.

 

Taoism and Kabbalah: Shared Mystical Insights

Taoism (Daoism) and Kabbalah, though rooted in different traditions — Chinese philosophy and Jewish mysticism respectively — share deep metaphysical parallels in their views of existence, self, and the divine.

1. The Nature of Being and Self-Unfolding
In Daoism, Ziran (自自然然) means “self-so-ness” — a state of spontaneous, self-sustaining existence without external forcing. It reflects the Dao’s eternal flow, where all things arise and transform naturally Medium. In Kabbalah, Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh (“I will be what I will be”) expresses God’s dynamic, ever-unfolding nature, not a fixed identity. Both concepts emphasize continuous becoming rather than static essence Medium.

2. The Tree of Life and Daoist Diagrams
Kabbalah’s Tree of Life (10 sephiroth + 22 paths) maps the process of creation and return to the One. Each sephira is a “tree in miniature” reflecting the One in its own way, with four “worlds” (Atziluth, Briah, Yetzirah, Assiah) representing levels of reality KUPDF. Some Daoist diagrams, especially in alchemical and esoteric traditions, share structural similarities, suggesting parallel metaphors for the unfolding of reality.

3. Language, Vessels, and the “Light”
Kabbalah teaches that the divine will “engraved letters” (Reshimu) in the infinite light (Or Ein Sof) before creation, forming the “vessels” (Kelim) that hold the “lights” (Orot) of meaning Reddit. This mirrors Daoist thought that the Tao cannot be fully named — only hinted at — and that true understanding comes through lived experience, not mere conceptualization. Both traditions see language as a limited tool for expressing the ineffable.

4. The Eternal Tao and the Eternal Name
The Tao Te Ching’s famous line — “The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name” — echoes Kabbalistic ideas that the divine name and the ultimate reality are beyond full articulation. In Kabbalah, the “letters” of the divine are potentialities; in Daoism, the Dao is the unnameable source from which all names arise Reddit.

5. Practical and Spiritual Parallels
Both traditions emphasize:

• Non-interference (wu wei in Daoism; tikkun in Kabbalah) — aligning with the natural flow of existence.

• Inner transformation — the process of becoming more in tune with the Dao or the divine light.

• Humility and discernment — avoiding ego-driven interpretations and seeking authentic guidance Medium.

In essence: Taoism and Kabbalah, though culturally distant, converge on the idea that reality is a dynamic, self-unfolding process — the Dao as the eternal flow, the sephiroth as its unfolding stages, and the divine light as the ineffable source. Both invite practitioners to live in harmony with this flow, beyond the limits of words and fixed forms

the individual, not the collective, is the proper unit of moral concern.

 

Friend,   Two hundred fifty years of a country built on an idea nobody had tried at scale before: that the individual, not the collective, is the proper unit of moral concern.   Ronald Reagan understood that idea in his bones. What a lot of people don't know is where some of that understanding came from.   In a May 23, 1966, letter, William Vandersteel, president of the Ampower Corporation, expressed confidence that Reagan could win the presidency in 1968 and enclosed a pamphlet by Ayn Rand titled "Conservatism: An Obituary," written after the 1960 presidential campaign. In the essay, Rand argues that many conservatives are opposed to statism but don't seem to realize that the only good alternative is capitalism.   Reagan’s reply was, "Thanks very much for pamphlet. Am an admirer of Ayn Rand but hadn't seen this study."   Even though Ayn Rand wasn’t exactly a fan of Reagan, they both understood the evils of collectivism. So we decided to tell Reagan’s story in one of our Draw My Life videos.

Watch This Video

We used the same format that first went viral for us with My Name is Ayn Rand — hand-drawn illustration, first-person narrative, no lecture, just a life.   This time, the life is that of a small-town Illinois kid who became a Hollywood actor, a union president, a governor, and finally the man who stood in Berlin and said, “Tear down this wall” — all while carrying Rand's central conviction that free individuals, not government planners, are the engine of everything worth having.   Friend, this is exactly the kind of content that has taken The Atlas Society's digital reach to 3.5 million people — the 42nd video in a series that started with a couple thousand dollars and my own amateur drawings and voiceover in my best Russian accent.    Every one of them is built to do the same job: take an idea Rand spent 1,200 pages developing and put it in front of a 17-year-old in under five minutes.   Reagan didn't need the translation, but most of the next generation does.   I'd love for you to watch it.

Watch My Name Is Ronald Reagan

With grit, grace, and gratitude,