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.