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All things in the world are ultimately a part of the Tao; thus the Tao is the sum total of everything and yet is still only one thing. More specifically the Tao is a process of transformation that does not admit the distinction of things; all things are distinguished only in accordance to the relativity of their opposites. .
" When the people of the world know beauty as beauty,.
there arises the recognition of ugliness". .
"When the simple oneness of Tao is split up into individual .
things with names, it is time to stop". .
In the light of Tao, all distinctions and polarities within "all things" are negated; it views all in an associative balance within the framework of "Yin" and "Yang", all things come from within the perfect center of the "Yin/Yang" balance, and branch outward. The Yin, described as the "passive, dark, mysterious, and feminine" aspect of things, and the Yang as the "active, light, ostensible, and masculine" character of all things. The goal of a Taoist Sage is to strike a balance amongst the Yin/Yang dynamic. In Taoism, Yin and Yang both complement and are interdependent of each other. My understanding is that "creation" or "being" according to Taoism, is the result of the "ebb and flow" of positive and negative energy, or Yin and Yang.
Other important aspects of the Taoist philosophy are the concepts of "Wu-Wei", "Chi" and "Le" (the later of which will be discussed later). Wu-Wei described as "non-interfering action", "spontaneous behavior", or "to do without force". One Taoist aim is to not play an active role in human affairs. You would not expect a Taoist to be an activist, for they would rather allow the "true" nature of things to emerge. Therefore, the Taoist, unlike the Confucianist, does not attempt to cultivate their character according to standards of virtue, but would rather allow their true nature to emerge freely. .
In conclusion to my depictions of the Tao, I would like to note a disclaimer that would best be illustrated within chapter fourteen of Lao Tzu's "Tao-Te Ching":.