The opening line of the Tao Te Ching: the dao that can be named is not the eternal dao. Any word for the Way falls short of the Way, because the Way is what gives rise to words. And yet one must say something — and so the classics proceed, metaphorically, by water, valley, uncarved block.
The dao is not distant. It flows through everything that happens when nothing is forced. To know the dao is Wu-wei — action in accord with the nature of things.