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I was carrying a copy of the Tao Te Ching with me a decade and some time ago which I had got from a used bookstore almost as a curiosity. Before that I had taken a cursory look at Western philosophy and comparative religions and I had a background in Roman Catholicism prior so it may have been here where my interest in Eastern thought began to grow. The translation of the Tao Te Ching I had was from Ellen M Chen who in the book incorporates a lot of Western philosophy which made understanding the basic ideas somewhat easier. I found that the Tao Te Ching matched a lot of how I already felt versus simply just ideas that seemed worth pursuing.
Time went by and my interest in Daoism stayed in the background. I had gotten some other books which were methods and techniques but at the time I lacked the discipline to really put them into practice. It seemed like there was something there but it wouldn't be until much later that I approached the subject with more intention.
I got back into Taoism as a focus of study and started reading books by Livia Kohn who is a preeminent scholar in the field. Ellen M Chen also recently put out a book on Daoist ontology which I highly recommend. I got into other writers (Eva Wong, Wilhelm, Vespe, other translations and commentaries of various texts, etc.) and started to read some of the Classics (There's so much about Daoism history, cosmology, cultural impact, etc. which I found endlessly fascinating). I then started getting more into the cultivation aspects and began Tai Chi and Qigong practice which I've found helpful in terms of health and mental clarity.
Taken as a spiritual path I've found Daoist thought and ideals to be open and also light-hearted which is a quality I appreciate.
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