Chapter 156

The verse in The Daodejing:

“The greatest misfortune is to not know contentment. The word calamity is the desire to acquire. And so those who know the contentment of contentment are always content.”

Enough. Contentment. Satisfied. These are conditions rarely seen in people. Or at the least the people I know and usually meet around the world. They are driven and pushing and feel desperation and pressure, and a lack. Not enough. Unsatisfied. Insatiable. Driven to purchase more and more, bigger better, just more. They can’t sit quietly in a silent room for any length of time. They hop into their truck and have to go shopping. But mountains of stuff will never a content person make.

But the people I choose to spend my time with intentionally are those who knows these words. Have experienced these words. These people know that you can never do enough, it can’t be external. Enough is internal. It is properly understanding that you are already enough. If you don’t already get that, then more will never make you feel less than . . . whatever.

Restlessness and chasing after power position and possessions, will not make you matter more, regardless of what the world tells you. No matter what your culture or social circle tell you, the three P’s will not make you matter more. What makes you matter more is your experience and your relationships. The combination of these two make each of us irreplaceable and unique. You matter more than you believe.