Losing Timing
In Taoist thought, much of suffering is a timing problem. The mind moves ahead of life. It tries to inhabit tomorrow while standing in today. It carries five future moments while living one present moment. This creates crowding.
Constant readiness is one of the main ways timing is lost.
The mind begins to rehearse:
• what might be asked,
• what might be needed,
• what might go wrong,
• what might be judged,
• what might be missed.
This rehearsal consumes attention and narrows awareness. It reduces contact with what is actually happening. It also weakens trust in sequence, the quiet confidence that each moment can be met when it arrives.
From a Taoist perspective, calm is not a mood to be produced. It is what remains when the mind stops overreaching. When timing returns, clarity returns. Emotional balance becomes less fragile not because life becomes easier, but because the system no longer prematurely does work.
Black Dragon Pool: Dayan, commonly called the Old Town of Lijiang is the historical center of Lijiang City, in Yunnan, China. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nappoon Meenuch. Unsplash license.