The More You Know
Most life is intrinsically curious to some degree, from kittens to kids. Curiosity is an emotion that pushes us to explore our environment and learn new things. As with all emotions however, there is a need for balance.
Making a discovery, be it universal or personal, is emotionally and physically satisfying for most of us. We have love addicts, sex addicts, thrill junkies – all of them because of the pleasure gained from a certain emotional satisfaction.
The world is inundated with unparalleled access to information like never before in our history. We have hundreds of channels of specialized content on our televisions, millions of websites to which we are afforded constant access via wireless networked laptops and smart phones. This provides fuel for the latest emotional addiction: knowledge.
It’s been commonly understood that too much of anything is not a good thing. Many ills are seated in excess, from overeating to alcohol abuse.
So what could possibly be bad about learning more? Knowledge is power, right?
In Chapter 47 of the Daodejing, we come across this insight:
“Without opening your door, you can open your heart to the world. Without looking out your window, you can see the essence of the Tao. The more you know, the less you understand.”
Knowledge about the world doesn’t insure you’ll understand it, and likewise you can understand it without having to define it. The idea here that more knowledge = less wisdom isn’t uncommon either. I would guess that anyone reading this has heard the saying “jack of all trades, master of none”. In essence, time spent learning many things takes away from the opportunity to fully understand one.
Sometimes it’s good to let that urge for another cookie go on past us. Maybe it’s also good to put down the papers, close out the blogs and news sites, shelve the books, turn off the TV, and just look at what’s around us here instead of everywhere.
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