The Tao Te Ching is basically “Taoism 101”. It is the book of the way. Some people will call it the way of the way. There’s a fair amount of mystery surrounding the origins of the text and lots of debate on actual translation, which makes it even more interesting. If you’re at all interested in philosophy and that sort of thing, check it out. It’s one of my favorites.
Last winter I started a project that involves relating the Tao Te Ching to the topic of anxiety and recovery. It’ll be a book at some point. This is my analysis of verse 1, and how it relates to the issues we’re addressing together. Welcome to a sneak peak of The Tao of Anxiety.
The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.
-Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching - Verse 1
Verse 1 teaches us that we do not have to know the Tao as we think we must know things. We are not required to name it. We are not required to be able to describe it. We can name and speak of the Tao, but this limits our experience and understanding to only what the Tao manifests. This glues us to the products of the Tao. It’s side effects. It’s wake. When we seek to know the Tao in words and with labels, we remain unable to experience and access the flow of the Tao - it’s true nature and power. Lao Tzu is telling us that when we try to know, we are missing the point. Accepting that we do not know as we wish and can not know as we wish brings us closer to the Tao from which all flows and to which all returns.
So much of the the anxiety journey is based on needing to know. Seeking certainty. Seeking total assurance. We see understanding, labeling, and explaining as paths to solving and by solving, finding safety and security. But much of the universe and much of life is unknown to us and will remain so forever. We cannot explain, understand, label, decipher and solve the universe.
We do not live in order to solve the puzzle of living. It is an unsolvable puzzle. Really, it isn’t a puzzle at all. Life just is. We are here to just be. Viewed this way, we can consider that our natural intended state is to be awash in the unknown and unsolvable. We are designed for it. We are placed here to be in it. To be. To resist this is to deny our capacity to not know and to diminish our ability to be.
Overthinking. Worry. Perfectionism. People pleasing. These are some of the labels we use when we resist our natural ability to leave things unnamed, unknown, and unsolved. We think that by engaging in these habits that we will gain greater understanding and therefore power. But we are mistaken.
Our real power comes in accepting that which we can not name or know. Beyond simply accepting, when we can come to respect the unknowable and un-nameable nature of life and the universe, we bring ourselves closer to true understanding of ourselves. We begin to see that we can tolerate not knowing. We can accept that. We can work with it. We can even thrive in a state of uncertainty.
This may seem completely foreign to you, or even reckless in some way. Abandoning your need to know may seem like jumping blindfolded in the dark off a cliff into a pit of poisonous snakes. But stop for a moment and consider how we describe the calm among us. Those that are cool under pressure. The people we want in charge when the chips are down and it seems like the world is on fire all around us.
“She’s so Zen”.
“Nothing bothers him.”
“The place could be on fire, and she still gets things done.”
We wonder how those people achieve that state. What makes them tick? I might argue that one of the things that makes them admirable is that they have embraced uncertainty and the general unknowable nature of things. These are not people that plan excessively or try to control every variable. They watch carefully as things unfold and move accordingly, navigating through challenging situations over which there is often no control. Yet, they emerge unscathed. What does this tell us?
When you are sure that you can never abandon your need to know and solve, even when you can see that this need is causing you problems, consider that many people in the world do not share this need, yet no disaster befalls them. You may have to consider that your belief that naming, knowing, solving, and controlling equals safety is incorrect.
Try not knowing for just a little bit. See what happens. Allow things to play out as they will play out naturally, and watch how you handle that. Give yourself permission to be the uncertainty machine that humans are designed to be. It will all work out in the end, even when that doesn’t look or feel the way you hope it will.
Take a lesson from Lao Tzu, who would tell you that simply living according to the Tao is better than trying to explain or name the Tao any time.
As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality. - Albert Einstein
Every Friday I’ll share one of my favorite quotes. They’ll often have direct application in recovery, but sometimes they’re just generally funny, inspiring, or thought-provoking. I hope you enjoy them.
162. Leaving Things Unnamed And Unknown