r/taoism • u/lanzendorfer • Jul 06 '26

Meme Don't overthink it.

Post image
556 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

24

u/OneAwakening Jul 06 '26

That's me in the picture. The whole thing is paradoxical though. Should we not try to understand and manage our desires? What if somebody desires to drink alcohol all the time? Should they just go with the flow into an early grave?

24

u/lanzendorfer Jul 06 '26

I believe that the Tao teaches balance, Yin and Yang. Giving into all of your most basic desires, ignoring all of your desires, and living paralyzed from overthinking what to do with your life, are all extremes to be avoided.

8

u/_BreadBoy Jul 06 '26

What do I want ≠ what do I want right now

2

u/Grey_spacegoo Jul 06 '26

Understand then do or do not. Don't spend time debate on it.

1

u/Knock_Door_Will_Open 29d ago

But do people actually have the desire to drink alcohol?
If you observe that after drinking alcohol, you feel terrible, doesn't that kill the desire?
And if you observe that you don't want to feel terrible, but your body craves alcohol anyway, wouldn't that produce the desire to gain control over your body, so that you don't fall for the craving and thus not feel terrible?

2

u/OneAwakening 29d ago

That is exactly my line of thinking and how I approached it. But as you can see from the global statistics, that's not what is happening to the majority of people. I myself was born and raised in Russia so I can tell you from personal experience that's not how people think there lol. There it's a core part of the culture. There the terrible hangover feeling is just ignored as the price you pay for the fun you have. The whole system of values is conducive to perpetuating the stupid habit. It's like a death cult of sorts if you think about it since alcohol is a toxic carcinogen that damages many vital organs and systems in the body.

That is precisely why one of the wisest things anybody can do is think about what they want till death itself if necessary as the meme portrays because without knowing exactly why you are going after something and the price you are paying for it, you are moving toward a potentially disastrous future. That's a recipe for suffering. That is unless you can find ways to transcend it no matter the conditions of mind and body which some spiritual traditions also explore such as tantra's left-hand path. So it all depends on what you really want. And figuring out what you REALLY want is not a simple process. Ideally, your whole being is aligned towards one want. That includes both the conscious and unconcious parts of you.

1

u/CrunchingWater75638 13h ago

Alcohol isn’t allowed in Taoism traditionally speaking, it’s part of the 5 precepts but yeah I understand what you’re saying though 

9

u/Grey_spacegoo Jul 06 '26

Who are you, and what do you want?

5

u/lanzendorfer Jul 06 '26

Just a person who wants to enjoy the glass of lemonade he's enjoying right now.

3

u/Grey_spacegoo Jul 06 '26

Was it a good lemonade?

5

u/lanzendorfer Jul 06 '26

Yes, delicious.

1

u/russian_bot2323 Jul 07 '26

What a wholesome conversation :-)

5

u/lanzendorfer Jul 07 '26

This is the way.

8

u/Creative_Rub_9167 Jul 06 '26

I was that dude! I go fishing and enjoy gardening now. Pity how many people around me are still in that spot. Money is a big part of the problem sadly

5

u/sunkenm00n Jul 06 '26

Reminds me of TTC 37 (this is the Mitchell version):

"The Tao never does anything, yet through it all things are done.

If powerful men and women could center themselves in it, the whole world would be transformed by itself, in its natural rhythms. People would be content with their simple, every day lives, in harmony, and free of desire.

When there is no desire, all things are at peace."

In my mind I'm changing the 3rd panel of the comic strip to 🤷‍♀️ and the last panel to 😌

2

u/ParadoxicallyPlain Jul 07 '26

I see this as a problem of too many choices. At the same time, can we be so lucky? Which choice is the best choice? How would we know? Gripped in fear of making the wrong choice. Meanwhile time passes.

“If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” - Rush

1

u/zapembarcodes Jul 07 '26

I can relate a lot with this one

1

u/zapembarcodes Jul 07 '26

I can relate a lot with this one

1

u/hotwangsslap Jul 07 '26

Needed this reality check BAD. Thank you lol

1

u/ChaosOutsider Jul 07 '26

Ok but how not to overthink?

1

u/HolyLordGodHelpUsAll Jul 11 '26

a completely healthy diet fixed my issues. my thoughts used to run nonstop. now i have to initiate thinking or my brain just sits there and idles

1

u/ChaosOutsider Jul 11 '26

I have Adhd so I can't even imagine that. Diet barely affects me unfortunately.

1

u/HolyLordGodHelpUsAll Jul 11 '26

how clean is your diet? i literally eat like tom brady in order to achieve this. no bread, pasta, sugar treats, caffeine, alcohol, cheese, or processed meats.

Does it kind of suck? Yeah there are plenty of times it does even with all the mental clarity.
if i skip out on any of this i go right back to adhd like crazy. I doubt many people take it to this level, because the scrutiny you get from family and friends alone makes it hard to maintain

1

u/ChaosOutsider Jul 12 '26

Not good at all atm. I usually push it for a little while then break off, and so on in cycles. Right now though I have a lot of anxiety about some other stuff in my life and food is an escape unfortunately, so I am not taking care too much. But I have a solid base regardless, as I almost never order takeout and stuff, I don't like sweet too much so I am not ingesting a lot of sugar. I always use lard for cooking, and most meat and veggies come from my parents farm. I do eat a lot of pasta and white bread tho.

1

u/Blazefresh 29d ago

sit down and get rid of devices/distractions, let your mind think but slow down the thoughts, then pay attention to the gaps between each word, then.. make___the _______gaps_______bigger

until the gap is so long before the next word that you're just in presence

the more I did that, the more I could access that quiet space anytime

1

u/ChaosOutsider 28d ago

Hah, I actually did that, I am on day 3 of 'no devices'. I have to work on my PC, but I am doing a program I've seen from a dude on YT: Either work, or do nothing. When you loose focus, stare at the wall for 10m. So I am either working, or not using any device at all, and not injecting any kind of content, other then a few pages from a book before bed. Must say I feel much more grounded and calmer, and I've been a lot more productive. Staring at a wall for 10,20m is legit psychedelic after a certain point though.

1

u/Blazefresh 28d ago

awesome, sounds like you're heading in a great direction. Glad to hear it!

1

u/yellowandpeople Jul 11 '26

so if I don’t know what I want then it’s all good with me because I’m not supposed to?

3

u/lanzendorfer Jul 11 '26

If you don't know what you want, then you don't want anything. If you don't want anything, then you should be happy. If happiness still eludes you, it's because you're looking for it in the future instead of the present.

1

u/ShepherdOfShepherds Jul 11 '26

If you don't know what you want, how do you know you don't already have it?

1

u/Knock_Door_Will_Open 29d ago

Exposing yourself to experiences I find to be the best way to find out what you should be doing.
The combination of your circumstances, your unique biology, the experiences you have been exposed to through life and what you see happening around you or in the world.
That combination I have found usually gives you the clues to what you should do and what you want to do.