Wen Tzu - Verse 113

from Verse One Hundred Thirteen

When people have many desires, that injures justice. When they have many anxieties, that harms wisdom. Therefore an orderly country enjoys things conducive for survival, while a cruel country enjoys things that lead to destruction.

~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~

Let's look at this passage from the perspective of the individual, rather than the collective. When any of us has a lot of desires -- things we want -- we often will take whatever steps are needed to satisfy ourselves. Some of these actions will be ethical and some will not. When one's desires are in the driver's seat, we tend to pay only lip service to justice and more often adopt the mantra of "all's fair in love and war."

By the same token, when we are each gripped by anxiety -- something I know far too much about -- we blow things out of proportion and see things that may not even be there. It's hard to learn from situations in which you don't see circumstances clearly.

When each of us is able to lead a balanced life, we can come to the point in which we enjoy all aspects of it. Unfortunately, when we lead unbalanced lives, we destroy ourselves from within.

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.