Not Rejection.

Taoism can be reduced to its simplest premise: 'It is what it is'.
Seeing life in this way, is to see it for what it is, and nothing more, or less.
The mind may judge a thing as 'good', or as 'bad'.
Suspend the mind, and the thing becomes what it always was: what it is.
Things, events, situations, experiences: all are what they are.
The mind rejects anything it decides is 'bad', and it does this frequently.
Thus it isolates itself from life. Separate and apart.
Put the mind to bed, and life becomes a magical, mystical event, and one that can be fully lived.

Taoism is: Non-rejection of any facet of existence.
Taoism is not: Rejection of the 'uncomfortable', the 'inconvenient', the 'bad'.

Not Wisdom.

Wisdom is what you can get, when you couldn't get what you really wanted.
It isn't something that waits for you to find it.
It isn't, in fact, anything at all.
Tasteless, odorless, colorless, formless. What is it, anyway?
An accident that may befall even the most careful.
Accidents may sometimes be beneficial.
Taoism is: wisdomless.
Taoism is not: a search for wisdom.

Not Happiness.

Or, rather: pretending to be happy.
A portrayal of happiness, when such a state does not, exist, subverts happiness.
Portraying the appearance of happiness, then passing judgement on the required happiness-level of others, does not promote happiness.
Taoism is: neither happy, nor unhappy. It is whatever it is, whenever it is.
Taoism is not: happiness, or the appearance of it.

Not Equality.

We are - almost without exception - not equal, whatever "equality" means.
"We" refers to the still-living. Thus we are all equal in terms of possessing life.
Other than that, there is nothing "equal" about any of us.
This is so blindingly obvious, that nobody notices.
Like The Meaning Of Life: So simple that surely, it can not be what it actually is: To Live It.
Taoism is: being true to whatever we discover we are. Utterly unique, while being a part-of the universal whole.
Taoism is not: a commitment to the "equality of all people".

Not Toeism.

One may become obsessed with studying one's toes, and this is the nature of toeism.
But one's toe is only a small part of the whole.
One must see oneself as a whole. And the whole is not just oneself, but one's life within the whole cosmos. And if you expected to find wisdom here, then you might. But you'll have to sift through the zany humour, to find it.
Taoism is: the rejection of toeism.
Taoism is not: toeism.

Living.

Living involves participating directly in the process of life.
It does not involve interpreting life, as a process, outside of the one interpreting it.
To become the life one lives, is the nature of taoism.
Taoism is: the seamless oneness of life, and the living of it.
Taoism is not: the separation of  life, and the one observing it.

Non-Judgement.

Being whole and healthy requires consideration of phenomena, before judgement is made.
A judgement, made before consideration of phenomena, finishes the phenomena.
To judge a thing, renders that thing finished-with, and extinct.
Unjudged, that thing remains a phenomenon, vital and active.
Judging takes a thing, labels it, puts it in a box, and assumes it as understood.
Unjudged, that thing remains an active source of information and potential.

The thing may lead to other things.
Other things may, themselves, lead to still more...
It, and they, may be essential to the continued unfolding of things.

To judge, is to put an end to potential.
To not judge, is to consider potential, and allow an unfolding of events.

Taoism is: consideration before judgement.
Taoism is not: judgement before consideration.

Balance.

What is being "balanced", anyway?
Not many people are, so it follows that not many people know.
Neither the one state, nor the other. But somewhere between.
Being balanced is being in-between.
Neither happy, nor sad. Neither "up", nor "down".
Balance is a razor's edge, and a narrow place all too easy to fall from.
But balance gives the ability to balance.
Balance gives just enough balance, to maintain itself.
Not too little; not too much.

Taoism is: Balance.
Taoism is not: the appearance of balance.
Taoism is: Neither happiness, nor sadness.
Taoism is not: preference for the one state, over the other.

Taoism is.

If describing the true nature of things were to be distilled down to only one word, that word would have to be: Is.
Not in the past, nor what might come to be.
Only the here, and only the now.
The only time ever actually able to be experienced.

Taoism Is: the realization of the present moment.
Taoism is not: what was, or what may come to be.
Taoism Is.

Not Fear.

People are fear-experts. With very few exceptions.
They consider it essential: this capacity to be afraid.
Anyone not manifesting the capacity for fear, is thought to be insane.
Not realizing, no doubt, that fear is dread of what may happen in the future.

Feeling fear is relinquishing the present, to dwell, uncomfortably, in the future.
Engagement with whatever the present presents, eliminates fear.

Taoism is: life lived in the present.
Taoism is not: a dread of things to come.

Not Intelligence.

Intelligence is: the ability to perceive patterns.
Intelligence is not: to be used for everything.
Taoism is: the ability to perceive directly.
Taoism is not: the use of intelligence to perceive the world.

Being a Ghost.

I find I am suddenly unable to post a comment, on my own blog.
Strange! Initially exasperating, and then...

Taoism is: being unconcerned about such things.
Taoism is: allowing amusement to replace irritation.
Taoism is not: jumping up and down, tearing my hair out, over mysteries.

It's a bit like a power-cut. Electricity is something that rapidly gets taken for granted, and then "poof" it is gone. Aieeee! What do I do now?
Something that does not require electricity...

Not Saving The World.

I get around, quite a bit, on the internet, trying to discover something, somewhere, pertaining to taoism, that is actually about taoism.
With very limited success.
It would appear that pretty much the entire Western world has no faint clue what taoism is about. Especially those calling themselves "taoists".
What I do see, again and again, are people behaving as-if  they are ever-so-nice, while carrying-on about how "we" should all be "behaving", usually in relation to "saving the world".

There are some key concepts here:
We: Not I, me, what involves my autonomous self, but all of us.
Behaving: Not being real, true, spontaneous or open. To behave is to act out a part.
Saving the world: It needs, apparently, to be saved. By us, of all things. The ones who are so busy wrecking it, to begin with.

I saw a post along these lines, just today, in fact. It was like so many others. Utterly predictable...
We are causing Global Warming.
Global Warming will inevitably result in the deaths of billions of people.
We must act now to avert these deaths.

It went on to describe the guilt felt by the "taoist" writer, to be associated with such a murderous society, and how it was all the fault of Conservatives and Republicans, going on to name the usual names...
The usual left-wing stuff.
But wait a minute: this was a taoist post on a taoist blog. It is this that makes it interesting; and not a little repugnant...

Taoism is: 
Non-interference with the natural unfolding of things.  
If there are too many people, wrecking the ecology, then some - lots - will have to go.
Who knows? You may be one of them. As may I.
Balance:
Neither right, nor left, but somewhere in-between.
Freedom from mind:
The mind is strictly a tool for one's own problem-solving. No problem? No mind.
Freedom from emotion:
Emotion is for children who know no better. Rages, desires, guilt, likes and dislikes. Maturity removes these things. Unless maturity never occurs, as is so often the case, in the West.
Ego-less:
Ego is who you think you are. And you think you're far more important than you really are.
Your opinion is the only way of seeing things. Solve your ego, and you solve yourself.
Good luck.

Taoism is not:
Feeling compelled to fix the world.
Morphing reality into something you think would be better.
Demanding everyone agrees with your opinions.
Acting as-if you are ever-so-nice.
Or acting, at all.