Moderation

 Two separate events combine for my post this week. I have been meditating on chapter 9 in Tao Te Ching. It reads:

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 and titles, and disaster will follow.

Retire when the work is done.

This is the way of heaven.

I was focusing on the later half because I recently retired from hospital administration.  The people there are doing great which makes me happy.  I believe I trained them well so my work was done.  

Then my wife and I saw the following bumper sticker:

Now this bumper sticker says a lot on its own. But it really opened my eyes to understand more fully Chapter 9 of Lao's book.  In our culture, why not "fill to the brim"?  You have to get your money's worth, right? But Lao is warning us that if we fill to the brim we can spill it and loose more than if we stopped short.  

We all know people who over think things.  You can over train as an athlete and I know you can over study as a student or overwork as an executive.

So I think Lao is reminding us about moderation; whether in sharpening a sword, amassing gold and jade or thinking about a problem. 

So the message for today is moderation is the way to happiness. 

Pax

 

Joe