I am sitting on my balcony. It is spring and there is a little bit of heat in the sun. The balcony looks out over a road. The road is usually busy… an endless stream of trucks and cars but right now there is no traffic. Everyone is self-isolating. The machine has stopped. It feels strange. Peaceful. I can hear different birds… the wren, the blackbird, the robin. A blue tit is flitting from one branch to the next. Life goes on. I could sit here all day.
“Don’t try”. Those are the two simple words of advice offered by the poet Charles Bukowski.
It jars for most people to receive that advice… especially those of us who want a better world.
I have been stuck in a cycle of “trying” for a while now and I see a lot of it in the world
Trying and searching and wanting.
Everywhere I look people, including me, are rushing to the next moment.
I know that 99% of people probably won’t resonate with what I’m going to say. They might think that I’m an idiot and that this piece is a cop out.
Not trying is seen as the “worst”.
It means that you are lazy and you don’t care.
It means that you settle.
It means that you do nothing.
It means that you are part of the problem.
It means that you are helpless.
Is that really true?
I don’t think so.
Does the oak tree try?
No. It just is.
Does the oak tree do nothing?
No. It just is.
Why is it that we humans are always trying and searching and wanting?
Don’t rush. Close your eyes and sit with that question for a moment.
Why are you always trying and searching and wanting?
