It is better to leave a vessel unfilled, than to attempt to carry it when it is full. If you keep feeling a point that has been sharpened, the point cannot long preserve its sharpness.
– Tao Te Ching, Chapter 9
Here’s a quote from Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. What do you think it means? I think that second line about the sharpness of things is a great statement about not getting stuck in our successes or accolades in the “somebody” side of life. If we spend all of our time reveling in our fleeting glory, it will tarnish…lose its luster. I think it’s probably time to stop bragging about that fourth-place ribbon I won in middle school in the 40-yard dash.
But what of that first line? Sure, if something is empty it is lighter to carry. But that can’t be all there is to it, right? Maybe it means our load in the world will be lighter if we drop a heavy ego. Maybe if we’re content with an emptier backpack, we’ll have less to tote around in the world.
If we take the two lines together, what do we have? Anyone? I heard someone yell out, “Confusion!” Yes, we certainly have that. But I think we also have a very simple (complex?) commentary on humility. How? Well, it seems that if we stay focused on living a simple life, keeping the load light, and letting even our glories go, then we will cover more ground in more peace. We will have less mental weight, less emotional clutter, and less disappointment. More calm!
In other words, we’ll be closer to simplicity and living Nobody Life. Anyway, I’m going to take some of these lessons and do some cleaning around here.
What about you? How do you stay sharp, simplify, or get unstuck?
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