The Tao says “Better stop short than fill to the brim. Oversharpen the blade, and the edge will soon blunt. Amass a store of gold and jade, and no one can protect it. Claim wealth an titles, and disaster will follow. Retire when the work is done. This is the way of heaven.” Why is it so difficult to know when to stop? Why do we always want a bit more, a bit different, a bit better and cannot rest? Dream is never complete, desire is never fulfilled and mind is obsessive. We see the present moment as an obstacle to what we want in future and enjoying the here and now is a challenge. Society even motivates and rewards us for never being satisfied, never being at rest. A competition of “doing and having” is created and people run after more and feel emptier and emptier. It seems that, unless the obsessive mind fails and causes suffering, it will not take a rest. I was wondering one day and asked my husband: how long do you think could human being survive if nature no longer exists? And how long would nature survive if human being no longer exists? I guess the answer speaks for itself and shows us how unbalanced we are. Fighting and blaming will not help. However, we may try to understand where we moved against the law of balance and move back to the track. Observe the way of nature. Take out what is really needed and no more, give it back with care, wait patiently, just be and accept what is… Is that possible? A journey with a thousand miles begins with a first step, says the Tao. There is no conclusion, no “perfect balance”, because life is a never ending experience and change. We go from one opposite to the other, eventually passing through the center. If we learn to stop before we get to the very extremes, we may swing closer and closer to the center and enjoy the journey.
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