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How Do You Do?
By karen | October 22, 2007
I don’t remember learning how to read. I remember not knowing how, driving my mom crazy asking what everything I saw said. But I don’t remember the learning. It seems one day I just knew how. It became effortless and easy and of course, for me, a passion.
My daughter is learning how to read. Of course, she already knows how except for the “big” words and the “long” books. She is at quite an advanced level for her grade-level but her grade level is not anywhere near the “Harry Potter” stage, which I would guess would probably be close to an adult reading level. As I sit with her and I watch and listen to her read, it is very clear that she is not at that effortless level yet.
With practice she will be. Reading will become effortless, much like it is for you and me.
It is that effortless state that I am trying to illustrate here. There is a concept in the Tao, “do without doing”.
In Chinese, the principle is called “Wei Wu Wei”. It means Action by inaction, do without doing. Like many of the principles of the Tao, it seems to be an enigma, a puzzle.
How can you “do without doing”?
You could sit in a monastery and meditate for 30 years. If you were to do so, you could definitely get the “without doing” part done, but wouldn’t you miss out on the “do”?
There is the puzzle again.
The actual words from the Tao come from the 37th verse.
but leaves nothing undone.
If powerful men
could center themselves in it,
the whole world would be transformed
by itself, in its natural rhythms.
When life is simple,
pretenses fall away;
our essential natures shine through.
By not wanting, there is calm,
and the world will straighten itself.
when there is silence,
One finds the anchor of the Universe within oneself.
There is a natural rhythm to the Universe. If we don’t force or interfere with things and we allow things to work in their own way, whatever needs to be done is done. When we find our true nature and our path with purpose, the natural rhythms of our lives take over.
It is effortless.
If you ever watch someone who is a master at their craft, you see this effortless action. They don’t “try” to make anything work, they just do what they do and we see the elegance of life.
Tiger Woods does not step up to the tee and check his posture and his grip, fretting about his swing.
Michael Jordan did not ever stop and think before he flew through the air with the basketball.
Great actors make us forget they are acting.
Great writers sweep up our imaginations and carry us along.
The people who become a master at their craft are in the flow. They “do without doing”.
Perhaps there comes a point where one no longer has to “do” because they become such masters that they just have to “be”. Their essential natures shine through. They have found their anchor to the Universe.
And everything is done.
This post is included in the
Meaning of Life Carnival Edition 2
from December 9, 2007. The carnival is hosted at
Marcellegros-Play the Game of Life
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Topics: Personal Development, Living the Power, Reflections |
October 24th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
I definitely know what you mean. I can hardly explain anything I just “know” how to do, even though it comes to me as natural as breathing.
My latest example of this is my artwork. Two months ago I had no idea that my particular medium even existed, and now I do it without even thinking. I just sit down and make stuff appear - it’s quite amazing!
October 24th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Vitor,
That is exactly what I was talking about.
It is “do without doing” it is just so natural it is just a wonderful flow…..
I checked out your site and the artwork
Beautiful!!
October 27th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Karen,
I loved this post, and I love that Tao poem.
Such a simple statement, yet so strong and transformational.
October 27th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Thank you KL
I agree. I think it is so beautiful.
Thank you so much for commenting. It really brings me joy to read comments of appreciation.
Thank you.
December 11th, 2007 at 1:03 am
[…] Karen Lynch submits, “How Do You Do?” This essay is based on the idea of acting without action, a core principle in the Tao Te Ching. It’s funny that Karen submitted her article this week; I just finished reading the Tao Teh Ching this week. I read Dr. Wayne Dyer’s book “Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life,” based on the Tao Teh Ching, last week. […]
December 11th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Great article!
You wrote:
“The people who become a master at their craft are in the flow. They “do without doing”. ”
As a writer and a professional editor, I have to say that often writing that flows and is effortless to read is created by very hard work - revising, editing, throwing out. It’s not necessarily that the writer was “in flow” when they wrote that wonderful passage - it may have been excruciating to write (and revise. And rewrite, etc)
I imagine this is true for others who seem to do what they do with ease and flow - they worked at it, and continue to work at it.
Most often, great artists, athletes, and masters at their craft do very much *with* doing - studying, revising, practicing, rehearsing. It’s only after this that they get to a place of “doing without doing”, although being good at something still does not always mean it’s without effort. I see it everyday in my work.
Just my reflection on the article. I still very much believe in the concept of “flow” which seems to me the same as “do without doing.” This post definitely gives me food for thought!
December 15th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Your comment reminds me of a passage in Stephen King’s book “On Writing” where he said that some of his books were such a struggle to write and that they were the ones that didn’t do quite as well and that there were others that were easy and flowing and they turned out to be the bestsellers (not that everything he wrote didn’t seem to be a bestseller!)
I seem to recall him saying something like “some books just took too much effort”
It’s all interesting….