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  • Writer's pictureDave Driver
    • Apr 15, 2020
    • 1 min read

Sharpening Your Knife


Part 3 of a the 5 parts series on serenity. Fill your bowl to the brim And it will spill. Keep sharpening your knife And it will blunt. Chase after money and security And your heart will never unclench. Care about people’s approval And you will be their prisoner. Do your work, then step back The only path to serenity. ~ From Tao Te Ching as translated by Stephen Mitchell

Today let’s explore the second line: Keep sharpening your knife and it will blunt. Over-sharpening is when we have done something too long or too much or so meticulously that by the time we get to the point, the point has lost its edge, or the reason has lost its purpose. Over-sharpening makes things less by trying for more and happens throughout life: Adding one more pinch of seasoning, Wearing one too many accessories, Over packing for too many just-in-case scenarios, Using too many words when fewer is better, And even citing too many examples of counterproductive excess. You get the idea. Do your work, then step back.

The only path to serenity.


~~ Thank you for reading.

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