In the words of Lao Tzu “Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things

are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you”.

Taoism believes the world itself is in perfect balance and perfect connection with itself.

This means that if we take more of the world than we need, we are disturbing

this balance - not just the balance of the world, but also the balance within

ourselves. In our competitive and work-oriented society, we work to be promoted, to afford more,

to be able to move into a bigger house, etc. This means we work extremely hard and stress

ourselves out to attain status, money and goods that we do not even necessarily need and spend

our entire lives being out of balance, on the verge of burnout, for nothing.

Even when you find yourself at the top, being surrounded by everything you’ve wished for,

you have to keep on working just as hard not to lose any of it - and the fear of losing it

only adds to the stress. The more we have, the more we usually want. For someone with ten cars,

it becomes very tempting to want to buy an eleventh. Furthermore,

it does feel important to note that this chasing of excess not only negatively

impacts the individuals who do so, but also the world around them. Think of overproduction,

food waste, environmental issues, and so on. It wouldn’t be just ourselves and

our environment that would benefit from moderation, but also the entire world.

To live moderately, we can start by asking ourselves the question: “What do I truly

need?” When shopping, cleaning, celebrating, or even working, ask yourself “What is enough to

satisfy my true needs?” This can take effect in a variety of ways. You may find you don’t

need to run the tap when brushing your teeth, or you don’t need to cook as much because you’re not

that hungry. Furthermore, we can also be more mindful of what the world needs. When you’re

done using particular clothes, you can choose to donate them instead of throwing them away. When

considering getting rid of something you don’t use, you could consider recycling it. By living

this way you will find that you are balanced and this balance will make you feel less stressed and

more relaxed. When you are satisfied with less, you are more satisfied in general. The Tao urges

you to think about what you need, what you truly use, and how you can fulfill those needs in the

least excessive ways. When our happiness doesn’t depend on excess, we are less likely to lose it.