How to Read “Enjoy but do not become excessive”
Tanoshimite insezu
Meaning of “Enjoy but do not become excessive”
This proverb means that enjoying things is good, but you should not go too far. It’s important to experience joy and pleasure in life. However, if you lose yourself in these pleasures and lose your sense of moderation, you end up hurting yourself or causing trouble for others.
This saying is used in many situations involving enjoyment. These include entertainment, hobbies, drinking parties, and spending money. People often use it as advice: “It’s okay to have fun, but keep it reasonable.”
Today, we have endless choices for entertainment. Games, social media, shopping, and more are always available. This makes the proverb’s message even more important. The attitude of “enjoying while maintaining self-control” matters more than ever.
Enjoying yourself and practicing self-control are not opposites. When you balance both, you can live a richer and more sustainable life. That’s what this teaching tells us.
Origin and Etymology
This proverb likely comes from the ancient Chinese text “Analects of Confucius.” It appears in the chapter called “Ba Yi.” Confucius used this expression when he praised a poem called “Guan Ju” from the “Book of Songs.” The original text reads “Enjoy but do not become excessive, grieve but do not harm yourself.”
The character for “excessive” has a specific meaning today. But in classical texts, it had a broader meaning of “going too far” or “losing moderation.” Confucius praised the beauty of emotions expressed in poetry. He said joy should be sung with restraint, and sadness should be expressed without damaging one’s health. This balanced expression was the ideal.
This teaching came to Japan and became established as a standalone proverb. Japan’s samurai class and intellectuals were strongly influenced by Confucian thought. They valued this saying as a guide for controlling emotions and living with moderation.
The proverb doesn’t reject enjoyment. Instead, it contains deep wisdom about balancing human nature with reason. It teaches us to enjoy life while maintaining self-control.
Usage Examples
- I enjoy golf with the spirit of “Enjoy but do not become excessive,” and I also treasure time with my family
- With alcohol, it’s “Enjoy but do not become excessive,” so let’s stop here today and think about tomorrow
Universal Wisdom
Humans instinctively seek pleasure. We want to eat delicious food, do fun things, and spend comfortable time. These desires are sources of joy in life. They should never be completely denied. But at the same time, humans easily drown in pleasure.
“Enjoy but do not become excessive” has been passed down for thousands of years. This is because it perfectly captures this dual nature of humanity. It’s neither complete asceticism that eliminates all pleasure, nor indulgence that follows every desire. Our ancestors understood that “moderate enjoyment” between these extremes is truly human.
What’s interesting is that this proverb doesn’t say “don’t enjoy.” Rather, it starts with “enjoy,” making enjoyment the premise. In other words, it recognizes the importance of experiencing joy in life. Then it seeks wisdom in how we enjoy.
Excessive pleasure might bring intense satisfaction temporarily. But consequences always follow. You might damage your health, destroy relationships, or face financial hardship. Throughout history, humanity has experienced this pain repeatedly.
That’s why wisdom emerged that true sustainable happiness exists in moderate enjoyment. This understanding came from countless experiences across generations.
When AI Hears This
Think about air conditioner temperature control. When the room gets warmer than the set temperature, cooling starts. When it gets too cold, cooling stops. This “mechanism that detects excess and corrects in the opposite direction” is called negative feedback. Actually, the state this proverb describes—”enjoy but don’t drown”—is a linguistic expression of the same control mechanism built into human emotional systems.
In control engineering, “gain adjustment” is crucial for stabilizing systems. Gain means the strength of response. For an air conditioner, it’s how much you strengthen cooling when temperature rises one degree. If gain is too high, the system overcools, heating activates, then cooling again—creating oscillation. If too low, it never reaches the target temperature. The same applies to enjoyment. Feeling no joy at all means insufficient response and a bland life. But responding with full force to pleasure creates violent emotional swings, falling into oscillating states of addiction and regret.
What’s fascinating is that optimal control systems always have “saturation prevention functions.” No matter how large the input signal, the output has an upper limit. In other words, excellent systems respond appropriately to stimulation while having built-in brakes against runaway behavior.
Ancient Chinese thinkers understood this essential truth. To keep the complex system called “human” running stably, this internal brake is fundamental.
Lessons for Today
Modern society is full of temptations. Open your smartphone and infinite content awaits. With one click, you can get what you want. Entertainment is available 24 hours a day. In this environment, the spirit of “Enjoy but do not become excessive” protects us.
This proverb teaches the importance of knowing your own “right amount.” How much enjoyment feels comfortable for you? It differs for everyone. What matters is enjoying within a range where you won’t regret it afterward and won’t trouble tomorrow’s you.
Practically, try setting limits on time or money for enjoyment. Games for one hour per day, eating out a certain number of times per month. Having your own rules lets you continue enjoying for longer. Think of it not as endurance, but as choosing a better way to enjoy.
When you master moderate enjoyment, you won’t be controlled by temporary pleasures. You can enjoy life while protecting what truly matters. Perhaps that’s true freedom.
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