There is a Chinese proverb that says, "When nothing is done, nothing is left undone" (无为而无不为). The latin transcription of the proverb goes like this: wuwei er wubuwei.
It is from this proverb that the Chinese practice of "the art of wuwei", or literally "the art of doing nothing," was born.
What is the art of wuwei? The art of wuwei is the art of non-doing. Wuwei is the art of letting things happen at their own pace; the art of letting go of control; the art of surrender. It is letting Source take over and letting things happen as they are meant to happen.
Have you ever been in a game or a competition or performance? Or maybe just a wonderful flow state? That feeling where your mind turns off and you just go? You hover above yourself and watch yourself in a third person perspective. And you know in your heart and in your soul that you trained for the moment with blood and sweat and tears but in that moment, something else is moving your body and telling you what to do. It’s not your ego. It’s not even you. It’s a force, a power greater than yourself that is moving through you and for you. It's Source.
It’s not you. Your ego wants you to think it’s you, but it’s not. It’s Source. So the more you push, the more you push Source away. That's why when you're pushing and forcing, everything takes so much effort and still nothing happens. You have to sit back and let Source move through you in a flow state of effortlessness. And that is the art of wuwei.
Let's talk about that moment a little more. That moment where Source moves through you, moving your body for you. Some people call it flow state. If you're an athlete, it often happens during a game or a competition. If you're an artist, it happens during a performance or showcase or concert. It can also happen in smaller moments throughout the day--a conversation, a smile, a nap, sex, playing with your dog or taking a walk. It’s moving my fingers to type on the keyboard right now. It’s pure Love and Soul. There is no mind. The Spirit or Gaia is speaking through you, moving you and helping you come up with great ideas. It's anytime you're fully present in the moment. Time slips away. You are just being. Not doing, being.
But life is not about always being present. You can't always be present. Constant flow-state is not even humanly possible. Life is not a constant game. Life is not a constant competition. Life is not a performance. Most of life is practicing for the big game.
Let's pause for a moment to focus on one metaphor at a time. (LOL.) Let's focus in on the performance metaphor, comparing the Universe to an orchestra. If the Universe is an orchestra, you have one instrument to play in that orchestra. That instrument is your body, and you have multiple practice sessions and multiple concerts throughout your life. Are you going to show up and play your music or are you going to check out because you have better things to do?
You play in harmony, beauty and truth when you play fully present with and for and through Source and Love.
You have some options as far as your role in this orchestra. You can just watch the concert happen. You can check out by sleeping. You can insist on playing your own music. Or you can freaking show up as yourself, on both the good and the bad days. Yes, sometimes you are sick and have to rest. But otherwise, you can show up as yourself. For the concerts, whether that be a jiujitsu competition, or publishing your book, or just time when you want to be present with Brie or your friends, then you just let muscle memory take over, and you let the beauty and creativity of source work through you.
So you can ask yourself: Am I contributing to the orchestra? Am I watching the conductor, or am I distracted? Am I being pulled away by illusions, sleeping, or doing my own thing? Or just adamantly ignoring what the other instruments are doing? Am I creating music? Am I contributing or am I creating my own music?
Because it’s when playing with others in harmony, with Love, with Universe, that you can be most alive and fully present. But only if you’ve been practicing can the anxiety can slip away because you’ve been preparing for this moment.
In-between those flow-states, you have practice sessions. Because life isn’t a never-ending concert. Life is about practicing for the concert, both on our own and together, so that when the time comes for the concert, you’re fully present.
So what does practice look like? It’s a process. Of writing, meditating, doing yoga, drilling, talking, check-ins, reading, praying, listening to intuition, listening to all the different parts of your body, and listening to your community.
But most of all? It’s about showing up to practice. That’s the hardest part. You can skip practice if you’re sick. But otherwise, you gotta show up. Then you can be present with the practice. Yoga, creative writing, free writing, reading, or just having conversations with people. Listening. Learning from your mistakes. Doing it over again.
A practice is something you do on a regular basis as a way to continually learn and listen and grow. Meditation is a practice because it’s never easy and it always requires attention, learning, listening and growing. And life is a practice in and of itself. Napping is a practice. Yoga is a practice. Writing is a practice. Jiujitsu drilling is a practice. Strumming chords is a practice.
Because it’s so easy to fall out of practice and just coast on auto-pilot, not really paying attention, doing the bare minimum. But showing up to practice, and then doing the practice is what matters. Not getting the gold medal. Not winning the competition. That's not what matters. Practicing and drilling is what matters. Practicing with attention to mistakes so that you can learn, rinse, repeat, iterate, grow, and evolve.
Evolution and the nature of evolution is a kind of higher power. We’re always changing. We are free to evolve into the highest version of ourselves. But only through practice can we learn and grow and change and evolve.
So, how can I evolve? So, how can I mature? I can start to see myself from a third person perspective, just a trans person--a trans, genderqueer, non-binary EXPLOSION of love, play, and freedom--trying to make their way in the world, wanting a simple life, playing around and dancing with other spirits. That’s all this is. Participating in the game--the concert--of the unfolding of the universe.
There is no end goal, except for death. There is no outcome, except for death. It’s just here and now. That’s all there is. There is nothing to check off the list. The sooner you check off your life, the sooner you die. Why rush it?
So, wu wei. The art of not doing. The art of surrendering to the universe, so that nothing is left undone. You don’t have to force it. Just be yourself. What does that mean? Just be Sam. Just enjoy it. People enjoy it when you’re being yourself. Not suffocating and therefore trying to breathe so all you can talk about is breathing. AKA, not without self and therefore all you can talk or think about is yourself.
But living with a quiet confidence of knowing yourself, that includes knowing your value in this word, which is nothing more and nothing less than participating in the unfolding of the universe with as much positive vibrations and playfulness, connection, flow and fun as possible. Because ultimately, there is nothing to check off. You only have one life. Once you check that off, it’s over.
No comments:
Post a Comment