I read this at Diary of a Daoist Hermit today and it is so appropriate for the recent leg of my journey:

One of those key Daoist concepts that take a lifetime to understand is that of “pu”. Usually, this is translated as “the uncarved block”. The reference is to a piece of wood that has not yet been shaped by some craftsman into some image. Unlike other religions or philosophies that seek to mold the believer into some form or another, the ideal in Daoism is for a person to find him or herself in their innate, spontaneous reality.

Of course, it is a lot more difficult to do than to say. For example, no one comes to a specific place in their life without having had a wide range of influences already impressed upon them. Where do those old impressions leave off and where does the original nature begin? We can try to discern our original nature, but this doesn’t just happen without some effort. How can one tell the difference between a process that is stripping away outside influences from one that is imposing a new one?