Put Things In Order

 “Prevent trouble before it arises. Put things in order before they exist.” (Lao Tzu)

Most of the time, the Tao Te Ching reminds us that thought tends to get in the way. This is because it separates us from the present moment. However, Chapter 64 contains an exception. Thought is good for anticipating trouble and taking preventive action. It’s also good for guiding and shaping what’s about to unfold. These look to the future. But once thought has served these purposes, it’s also good to set it aside before it continues to separate us from the present.

The opening quote is very direct, isn’t it? What’s more, it implies that trouble is preventable, that putting things in order is a good idea, and that both of these are things we can do in advance. This newsletter will explore this quote and see what makes it unusual.

Most of the time, the Tao Te Ching has cautionary things to say about thought. It says things like “Thoughts weaken the mind. Desires wither the heart” (chapter 12) or “Empty your mind of all thoughts. Let your heart be at peace” (chapter 16). The message is clear. If you want your mind to be strong, and your heart to be at peace, then we’re told it’s best to empty our mind of thoughts.

So here’s the puzzle.

There’s only one way to “prevent trouble before it arises” and that is to think about what might happen and do something about it in advance. Similarly, the only way to “put things in order before they exist” is to think about what you want them to look like when the time comes. Clearly, both these involve thinking. Hmm, sounds like our mind is filling up rather than emptying out.

This is what makes the opening quote unusual. It’s talking about the merits of thought. As if to explain where he’s coming from, in the very next lines Lao Tzu says “The giant pine tree grows from a tiny sprout. The journey of a thousand miles starts from beneath your feet” (chapter 64).

What this means to me is that the “order” represented by the giant pine must be somehow contained in the tiny sprout (which is the giant pine before it exists). So if we want to bring about something big, then we need to think about what it will look like before we bring it into existence.

And when he says “The journey of a thousand miles starts from beneath your feet,” I think he’s saying the same thing. The journey of a thousand miles is clearly something big that’s not going to exist without some thought on your part. After all, it’s your feet that are going to be covering the thousand miles not anyone else’s. (That said, I suppose you could forget thought and just start wandering… although the word “journey” suggests a bit more than that.)

So, we may ask ourselves, is thought a good thing or not? I think the answer lies in knowing when to stop. Here’s a relevant quote “Thinking is a good servant, but a bad master” (Alan Watts). When you call on thought to help you plan a journey of a thousand miles, and then firmly let it go once you’re done, thought is a good servant. It’s when you don’t know when to stop that your roles reverse and thought becomes your master. It’s a matter of who’s calling the shots.

I commented earlier on thought taking you outside the present moment. Let’s dig a little deeper. Whenever you plan something, you’re contemplating different possible versions of the future and selecting the one you want to happen. Or rather, given the future is never entirely ours to control, you’re selecting a possible version you can at least do something about by way of stacking the odds in its favor. But, whatever you’re doing, you’re certainly not in the present moment.

Maybe your desired version of the future will turn out to be the one that comes into the present. Or maybe it won’t. Either way, at least you’ll have done what you can – as long as you remember to let go. And that’s the hardest part. Because if you don’t let go, then thought becomes your master and you fail to return to the present moment. And the downside of that is nothing less than losing touch with reality.

Here’s the previous sentence in the Alan Watts quote “A person who thinks all the time has nothing to think about except thoughts. So, he loses touch with reality, and lives in a world of illusions…” And here’s Lao Tzu “Therefore the Master… dwells in reality, and lets all illusions go” (chapter 38). They’re both saying the same thing. Overthink and you end up in a world of illusion. Lao Tzu’s Master clearly knows when to stop.

An example that’s true for me is whenever I continue to think about something way past when it’s stopped being useful. For example, worrying about what-if scenarios that are highly unlikely and therefore not worth worrying about. It’s as though, on my journey of a thousand miles, I want details about the surrounding countryside at mile 500. Really? Do I need to know that to take the first step? No, of course I don’t.

To take the first step there’s only one thing I need to do. And that’s be fully present in the here and now. Why? Because the present moment is the only place where I can actually put one foot in front of the other. Not very exciting, is it? A bit pedestrian, one might even say. But it’s true.

Let’s summarize. There’s a time for putting things in order before they exist, i.e., when they’re still in the future. And then there’s a time to stop putting them in order and let them exist, i.e., in the present. At that time, that’s also where we need to be. Clearly, it helps to become very aware of when that time has arrived. I could certainly do with getting a lot better at that.

How about you? Do you find yourself trying to put things in order long after it’s time to just let them exist?

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Thanks for reading. Please feel free to share this newsletter.

Francis

IN OTHER NEWS...

Past newsletters are here: www.francispringmill.com/newsletter-archive

In Harmony with the Tao: A Guided Journey into the Tao Te Ching is available here. There Is No Somewhere Else: Insights from the Tao Te Ching is available here.

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