Wiser by Day
Enough · Lesson 1 of 6 · Free
Notice the reaching
Notice what is already enough, and let the wanting loosen its grip.
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Read the recording transcriptThe lesson
Welcome. There's a quiet pull in most days, toward the next thing, the next purchase, the next improvement. Over six short days, we'll practise noticing what is already enough. Today, we simply watch the reaching.
There is no guilt greater than to sanction ambition; no calamity greater than to be discontented with one's lot; no fault greater than the wish to be getting. Therefore the sufficiency of contentment is an enduring and unchanging sufficiency.Laozi · Tao Te Ching, chapter 46
James Legge, 1891
This old line sounds stern, but the point is gentle. Wanting isn't a fault in itself. The trouble is the wish to be always getting, because it never meets a finish line. When one want is met, another steps forward in its place. So today we don't try to want less. We only notice the reach as it happens, the small lean toward the next thing, and see how often it arrives before we've looked at what we already have.
A companion passage
Over a century ago, Gandhi described the reaching in plainer words.
We notice that mind is a restless bird; the more it gets the more it wants, and still remains unsatisfied.Mohandas K. Gandhi · Hind Swaraj (Indian Home Rule), Chapter XIII, What Is True Civilization?
Gandhi's own English translation, 1910
Try it for yourself
A short reflection
Sit comfortably and let your eyes rest or close. For the next few minutes, notice any wanting that shows up: a thing, a plan, a different moment. Don't push it away and don't follow it. Just name it softly: reaching. Then return to your breath. If it becomes uncomfortable, you can stop at any time. Take three minutes.
One question to write about
What was your mind reaching for most often?
You can reflect without writing. Nothing you think or write on this page is collected.
Recording transcript
This text follows the recorded narration. Source credits for the quoted passages appear above.
Welcome. There's a quiet pull in most days, toward the next thing, the next purchase, the next improvement. Over six short days, we'll practise noticing what is already enough. Today, we simply watch the reaching. From the Tao Te Ching, an ancient Chinese book of short sayings, in James Legge's translation of 1891. There is no guilt greater than to sanction ambition; no calamity greater than to be discontented with one's lot; no fault greater than the wish to be getting. Therefore the sufficiency of contentment is an enduring and unchanging sufficiency. Laozi, Tao Te Ching, chapter 46. This old line sounds stern, but the point is gentle. Wanting isn't a fault in itself. The trouble is the wish to be always getting, because it never meets a finish line. When one want is met, another steps forward in its place. So today we don't try to want less. We only notice the reach as it happens, the small lean toward the next thing, and see how often it arrives before we've looked at what we already have. Over a century ago, Gandhi described the reaching in plainer words. Mohandas Gandhi, in Hind Swaraj, from 1910. We notice that mind is a restless bird; the more it gets the more it wants, and still remains unsatisfied. Mohandas K. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj (Indian Home Rule). Sit comfortably and let your eyes rest or close. For the next few minutes, notice any wanting that shows up: a thing, a plan, a different moment. Don't push it away and don't follow it. Just name it softly: reaching. Then return to your breath. If it becomes uncomfortable, you can stop at any time. Take three minutes. What was your mind reaching for most often? That's enough for today. Tomorrow, we ask what we could afford to leave alone.