Tao Te Ching Verse 3: Right-sizing Ambition

Tao Te Ching Verse 3:Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to keep the people from rivalry among themselves; not to prize articles which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming thieves; not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is the way to keep their minds from disorder.Therefore the sage, in the exercise of his government, empties their minds, fills their bellies, weakens their wills, and strengthens their bones.He constantly (tries to) keep them without knowledge and without desire, and where there are those who have knowledge, to keep them from presuming to act (on it). When there is this abstinence from action, good order is universal.Recognizing Ambition vs. CallingLao Tzu says that “Not to value and employ men of superior ability is the way to keep the people from rivalry among themselves; not to prize articles which are difficult to procure is the way to keep them from becoming thieves; not to show them what is likely to excite their desires is the way to keep their minds from disorder.”So if I’m simultaneously a leader and a follower, I would do well to consider both sides of this part of the Verse - the Sage and the ‘people.’ I like how not valuing things keeps the ‘people from becoming thieves,’ because I can flip this around and think that if I don’t overvalue the result of an ambition I have, I will continue to be useful and effective.  In other words, I should look to lessen my ambitions.It was about this point that I told myself, “Balderdash!”  Ambition is healthy, it’s what drives me to succeed, it’s what helps me create a better world for others - and the children!  Think of the children!So how can a lack of ambition fit here?Remember how we talked about using duality to help us unpack things in the last verse, verse 2?  Let’s make use of that concept now.  Let’s consider a possible opposite of ambition:  a calling.To me, a calling seems to be the natural output of an initial thought, an inspiration, a creative urge that just pops into my mind.  For example, I felt drawn to the Tao Te Ching’s lessons the more I read them, and one day was feeling a little creative, broke out the mike and started discussing.  There was no idea at that point (ok, maybe a little one, because I’d been thinking about podcasting anyway) - but there wasn’t any idea that I’d be crafting this whole...thing.  I really just had an urge to express myself.  In that moment, I felt compelled, or called, if you like, to manifest a greater connection with the Tao.  So a calling seems to be a thing based on love and inspiration.Ambition, on the other hand, is what follows that creative urge or thought, sometimes.  Ambition is saying like, oh, well I’ll do this thing that I want to do anyway, and it’ll be awesome.  It’ll grow into something incredible, and I’m going to make it so!At first glance, this may sound entirely innocuous.  And it may be - but sometimes for me, I start to overthink things, and when I do, they don’t turn out well.  I try to possess that calling and use it to define me, which pulls me away from that original, pure inspiration.So is ambition bad, per se?  Of course not - nothing is really bad until we make it so.  But it can get us into trouble if we, like ‘the people,’ perceive whatever it is we’ve thought about to be valuable - because that causes us to forget why we started the thing - whatever it is, like a work project, a relationship goal, a desired situation.Does this mean I can’t have ambitions?  Of course not.  It means that I can prevent them from becoming the means to an end, and allow them to be the impetus