I think any philosophical Taoist knows that there’s really no such thing as a Taoist, so if we call ourselves that, it’s with an inward smirk. Am I a Taoist? It’s an easy thing to tell people who are asking you but don’t really care past the realm of semi-philosophical small talk (in which case I also add “humanist” and “absurdist”). But I don’t take it to heart. I don’t identify as anything, not a Taoist, not an American, not even a man, but we have to carry these labels around like a passport so we can move about society and interact with the world. It does us no good to renounce this life to a point that we can no longer communicate with it. Enlightenment is the ability to walk in all worlds at once. Anything’s possible, maybe you can transcend the physical realm and live as an interdimensional being of light. Hell, maybe colorless green ideas sleep furiously. There was a time I’ve considered giving into madness and living entirely in my head (and sometimes I suspect that’s still an option), but that’s taking the easy way out, and I’ve still got things in this life I need to take care of.