The Tao of Sloth

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I was reading a fascinating story on BBC’s website about a woman in Suriname who rescues sloths. The story included a “Tao of Sloth” – kinda tongue-in-cheek, but wise words nonetheless. To read the story, click here. 

 Here are the tenets which comprise the Tao of Sloth:

The Tao of Sloth
What would it be like to be a sloth? Human life would be a blur. Sloths seem to embody a central tenet of Taoism “action through non-action” so let’s consider a “Tao of Sloth”:

  • Eat slowly – The sloth’s diet of leaves is hard to digest, their approach is to allow plenty of time
  • Hang out – Sloths save energy by hanging from their claws rather than using their muscles
  • Smile all the time – Sloths are cute and appear to smile though they’re not primates, they’re related to anteaters and armadillos
  • Be kind and others will be kind to you – Three-toed sloths climb down from the safety of the tree canopy to poo on the ground, for the benefit of moths that live in their fur (the moths in turn encourage the growth of beneficial algae)