There is no greater sin than desire,
no greater curse than discontent,
no greater misfortune than wanting something for oneself.
Therefore, he who knows that enough is enough
will always have enough.
—Tao Te Ching - Verse 46
I met a guy at the beach a while back, and we started talking about philosophy and religion. The next time I saw him, he told me, “I checked out your blog. I’ve seen most of those quotes before. They’re all those things we’re supposed to do but never apply.”
I almost said, “Well, maybe you don’t, pal!” But months later, I was half-reading this quote about desire, discontent, and wanting, while half-daydreaming about the things I desire, am discontented with, and want, and I flashed back to the beach and realized how true his words could be.
Not entirely true, and not all the time. I like to think some of the philosophizing I’ve done over the years has led to lasting change. But much of the wisdom disclosed in these ancient texts goes against the default settings wired into our brains.
When is enough ever enough? We always desire more; we are always discontent with the status quo; we always want novelty. The only times we don’t is when we’ve been over-stimulated, over-satiated, and over-satisfied. And even then, it’s just a protective mechanism that hits a temporary shut-off switch so we don’t eat ourselves to death or what have you.
But I think the key is to keep reading these kinds of things as a constant reminder of what we’re supposed to do, and hope that maybe that’ll help you through the uphill trudge of applying them. Because what else is there to do except keep fighting the good fight? Give in to gluttony and indulgence?
I suppose. But where’s the challenge in that?
So here’s to you, Mister Random Beach Philosopher Guy. May you be doing the things that are most difficult to apply.