“If you are able to act ‘without forcing,’ your life is spontaneous, a life that is so of itself, natural, not forced, and not unduly self-conscious.” -Alan Watts
In the pursuit of knowledge,
every day something is added.
In the practice of the Tao,
every day something is dropped.
Less and less do you need to force things,
until finally you arrive at non-action.
When nothing is done,
nothing is left undone.
True mastery can be gained
by letting things go their own way.
It can’t be gained by interfering. -Verse 48, “Tao Te Ching” by Lao Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation)
“It is important not only to understand intellectually the difference between letting it happen and making it happen, but to experience the difference. To experience the difference is to know the difference…When you try hard to hit the ball correctly, and it goes well, you get a certain kind of ego satisfaction. You feel that you are in control, that you are master of the situation. But when you simply allow the serve to serve itself, it doesn’t seem as if you deserve the credit. It doesn’t feel as if it were you who hit the ball. You tend to feel good about the ability of your body, and possibly even amazed by the results, but the credit and sense of personal accomplishment are replaced by another kind of satisfaction.” –The Inner Game Of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us, only sky
Imagine all the people
Livin’ for today
Ah
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Livin’ life in peace
You
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one -song “Imagine” by John Lennon
Per Wikipedia, “Wu wei is a concept from ancient Chinese philosophy that literally means not-acting or non-doing, variously interpreted and translated as actionlessness, inaction, or effortless action. In Taoism, it denotes the nature of Tao, meaning that while Tao (the way, path, or flow of nature) is the source of all existence and manifestation of all phenomena, its intrinsic formless essence is that it acts or moves in a silent, invisible, ineffable, often-unnoticed manner that may even seem motionless and effortless. Accordingly, Taoists aspire to live their lives in alignment with such a harmonious state of free flowing and unforced activity. In a political context, it also refers to an ideal form or principle of spontaneous and non-aggressive governance.”
Sounds pretty good to me.
Imagine if we can all live like this.
Wu Wei says it’s pretty easy. If you don’t try (i.e. lose the ego). And just let it happen.
