Proverbs 30:15 · World English Bible
Proverbs 30:15 Meaning The Leech Has Two Daughters
The leech has two daughters: ‘Give, give.’ “There are three things that are never satisfied; four that don’t say, ‘Enough:’
What does Proverbs 30:15 mean?
The ego is a thirst that grows by drinking, and its two daughters, crying give and give, are the endless wanting that having only sharpens. A mind ruled by lack can never arrive at enough, because enough would be the end of the ego, and the ego lives by the certainty that something is still missing.
From the Christian Psychology reading below.
Proverbs 30:15 through 1 lens
The same verse, read by one tradition.
Christian Psychology
CHRISTIAN PSYCHOLOGY
Christian Psychology
The ego is a thirst that grows by drinking, and its two daughters, crying give and give, are the endless wanting that having only sharpens. A mind ruled by lack can never arrive at enough, because enough would be the end of the ego, and the ego lives by the certainty that something is still missing. So it counts and reaches and is never full, mistaking the ache itself for a promise that the next thing will finally quiet it.
Peace is not more. Peace is the recognition that the mind already holds everything real, and the crying stops the instant it stops believing it is poor.
Horseleech: the ego itself, a mind that feeds without ever being filled, a thirst that grows by the very drinking Daughters: the twin cravings the ego breeds, the endless give and give of a mind convinced it is still without
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Live Proverbs 30:15 today
- Pick one thing you were going to buy this week and simply do not buy it, then watch what happens in you over the next few days. The wanting fades faster than you expect.
- At dinner or on a walk with someone, tell them one thing you already have that you would not trade. Say it plainly, out loud, to a real person.
- When you catch yourself refreshing for one more email, one more sale, one more number, stop at the number you have and close the tab. Say "this is enough for today" and mean it a little.
What have I been telling myself I need before I am allowed to feel full?
The same truth in other traditions
Tao Te Ching 46
The worst poverty is not having little, it is the belief that you do not have enough. Knowing when to stop is the only real wealth.
Buddhism · Four Noble Truths
Suffering has a cause, and the cause is craving, the thirst that keeps reaching for the next thing. Feed it and you train it, see it clearly and it loosens.
Stoicism · Seneca
Nothing will ever be enough for the person to whom enough is too little. Set the limit yourself, or your wanting will keep moving it.
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