Mastery of the world is achieved by letting
things take their natural course. You can not master the world by changing the
natural way. Lao Tzu Our civilization is in a state of ongoing
strivings, in which control seems to be the highest virtue. We donât have to look far to observe this:
in the workplace, for example, employees are more and more controlled and supervised, especially
now we have the technology to do so. And governments put more effort into tracking
their citizens, whether itâs through camera supervision or the proposal of a so-called
âsocial credit systemâ. Ironically, the latter is a Chinese invention,
that goes utterly against a philosophy that emerged from the same soil: Taoism. As opposed to a control-obsessed society,
Taoism revolves around letting go and going with the flow. At first glance, the act of letting go may
seem a form of weakness. But according to the Taoists, by a correct
understanding of how the universe works, we can approach life more intelligently, more
efficiently, and go with the flow, rather than swimming against it. Therefore, the power of letting go is a form
of strength thatâs based on sophistication rather than force. The
Tao Te Ching, the main Taoist scripture, was written by a mysterious sage named Lao Tzu. There are countless ways in which we can interpret
this text. One way is to see it as a guide for a ruler. What characterizes the passages of the Tao
Te Ching regarding governance, is that Lao Tzu puts emphasis on ruling by ânot rulingâ,
as he compared governing a country with frying a small fish: too much poking spoils the meat. He argued that when a ruler tightens his grip
on the people, all kinds of negative side effects will occur. We see that people become distrustful towards
one another when the government is too patronizing, and when itâs too intrusive, people become
rebellious. But when a leader is unobtrusive and acts
with integrity, then people will become whole, as theyâre granted the space to naturally
evolve. Itâs clear that Lao Tzu favors a passive
form of governance, which doesnât just apply to ruling a state, but also to the governance
of ourselves. Because letting things go, is key to let nature
do the work, which applies to any level. In this video, Iâd like to show you several
ways in which Taoism shows us the power of letting go. The first one is the art of... (1) Non-doing The Taoist concept of Wu Wei can be explained
as âeffort actionâ, or the so-called âflow stateâ, but also as ânon-doingâ, or
âknowing when to act and when not toâ.â When we take a critical look at ourselves,
we see that the need for control prevails in many areas of life. We feel the need to control our pets, our
children, our gardens, our video games, (in some cases) our partners, and first and foremost:
our future. Now, control isnât always a bad thing. In order to survive, we need to exert our
influence on the environment to some extent. Especially self-control can lead us in a positive
direction. Without control, human civilization would
probably never have occured. But too much of it doesnât get us anywhere. It seems that we systematically underrate
the natural influences that lie at the basis of our daily lives. We canât control everything, and many things
happen when we stop controlling them. Letâs take a tree for example. We can plant it, we can water it, we can add
some fertilizer, and make sure itâs exposed to enough sunlight. But any more intervention would only damage
the process because we interrupt nature from doing its job. Another example is attraction. The first step to attracting someone is simply
showing ourselves, so that the person we want to attract knows that we exist. Then, attraction either happens or not. When the attraction is there, one can easily
blow it by taking too much action. Attraction is a natural phenomenon that is
beyond our control. It absolutely cannot be enforced. Instead, it has to grow, or erupt spontaneously. And thereâs only one way to let the seed
of attraction grow into a beautiful tree; which is not intervening, aside from the occasional
watering. Silence makes the heart grow fonder. Thatâs why âletting goâ is vital in
relationships. Because by letting go, we give space to the
forces of the universe to unfold. After a fight, for example. anger naturally erodes. And when trust is breached, one cannot enforce
restoration: it has to grow back naturally. So, letting go makes the difference between
controlling and allowing. The second one is... (2) Embracing change. The Taoists were very aware that life unfolds
in a constant movement between opposites: between high and low, light and dark, yin
and yang. There isnât much we can do about it, and
the most efficient way of living is simply moving along with the waves of existence. The flow of life and its transformations are
inevitable. Yet, we see so many people cling to their
circumstances. In the metaphor of the river stream, they
hold on tightly to a branch or rock, afraid to let go, because they want complete control
over their position. They simply donât trust the universe. And the consequence of this is a rigid lifestyle. They see life passing them by, including many
opportunities for positive change, and they miss out on a lot of fun. As Lao Tzu wrote in the Tao Te Ching, and
I quote: The living are soft and yielding;
the dead are rigid and stiff. Living plants are flexible and tender;
the dead are brittle and dry. End quote. There are also those who swim against the
stream. Theyâre the biggest energy wasters of them
all. Perhaps they see honor and virtue in taking
an extremely non-agreeable stance in life. But exercising a constant resistance to how
the universe unfolds, isnât a very efficient way to live, and most likely makes one worn-out
and miserable. This non-acceptance of âhow things areâ
is also the cause of people fighting against themselves. Because of certain societal expectations,
people engage in a battle against their inherent nature, instead of flowing along with the
attributes that nature has given them. We could say: âfollow your strength, instead
of trying to repair your weakness.â Embracing change also applies to uselessness
and usefulness. Taoist philosopher Zhuangzi observed that
usefulness depends on the circumstances, as he told about a merchant that tried to sell
shirts to a tribe, whose members were covered in tattoos, and always showed them off by
walking around shirtless. To them, shirts are useless. But to us, at least most of us, they arenât
useless at all. Usefulness and uselessness are relative and
are not to be treated with rigidity. When you live in New York, for example, having
a car is less useful, then when you live somewhere in the countryside where the next village
is fifty kilometers away. So, we ought to be willing to let go of things
that are useless in one situation, and adopt whatâs useful instead. Thatâs how we make change an ally, and not
enemy. The third one is... (3) Not focusing on outcomes. Comparable to the Stoics, the Taoists observed
that the focus on future outcomes has a negative effect on us. Focusing too much on the future makes us anxious. Our present endeavors become fueled by a desire
for an uncontrollable result, and the more we crave that, the less we value the only
thing we have, which is the present moment. Zhuangzi goes one step further, by telling
us that the more we value something external, the worse we perform in the present. He tells us about an archer that loses his
ability to shoot when he focuses too much on the prize. I quote: He who is contending for a piece of earthenware
puts forth all his skill. If the prize be a buckle of brass, he shoots
timorously; if it be for an article of gold, he shoots as if he were blind. The skill of the archer is the same in all
the cases; but (in the two latter cases) he is under the influence of solicitude, and
looks on the external prize as most important. All who attach importance to what is external
show stupidity in themselves. End quote. Now, this doesnât mean that people that
want external things are stupid. It means that when our minds are in the future,
we paralyze ourselves in the present. This principle lies at the basis of the âflow
stateâ that we see in activities like sports, art, and dancing. When we experience this flow state, weâre
so immersed in the task at hand, that we completely forget about the future. Itâs like the dance dances itself. The last one for now is... (4) Letting go of excess. In a society in which status is an ultimate
concern, everyone wants to be at the top. Not because itâs necessarily the best place
to be, but because weâve collectively decided that high status is preferable and low status
is horrible. This also comes with a collective pursuit
of the former, and a collective aversion to the latter. But the tallest trees catch the most wind. And when weâre at the top, it takes a tremendous
amount of effort to stay there, because everyone wants to take your position. Itâs stressful compared to the lower regions,
in which one lives more privately, with less competition, less enemies, and, in general,
less effort. The other extreme, however, is a place of
deprivation. If we deliberately seek the absolute bottom,
we become ascetics. Although in a different way, thereâs still
a strong attachment; the attachment to deprivation. The question we can ask ourselves is: what
do we truly need? Zhuangzi observed that a bird that nests in
the forest, wants no more than one branch. And that a mouse that drinks from the pond,
drinks no more than a bellyful. So, if we aim for what we need, and let go
of excess, we prevent possessions from becoming our prison cell, which allows us to travel
light. Epicurus observed as well that the basic necessities
for life are easy to come by, and that living moderately is the key to happiness. Itâs a path thatâs easy, and sustainable. As Lao Tzu wrote: âThose who use moderation
are already on the path to the Tao.â End quote. When we stop striving, we give nature space
to unfold. In trusting the universe and accepting that
itâs ever-changing lies the opportunity to become loose and supple, instead of rigid
and brittle. The power of letting go means that we float
along the stream, without grasping for rocks and branches, and that we cut loose dead weight,
so we can navigate through life with minimal effort. Thank you for watching.
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