Maturity is tricky sometimes.
Sometimes we'd like to think that wisdom automatically comes with age. Though reality isn't always that simple. Sometimes we're given tests to convert our knowledge into wisdom. Sometimes no amount of wisdom can prepare us to pass the tests. Sometimes there are no clear right or wrong answers - just improvision, and the hope that acting with the best of intentions and greatest consciousness we're capable is good enough.
"With great power, comes great responsibility," they say.
Sometimes that power is knowledge or wisdom. And sometimes, it's a mindfuck to assess what exactly we're "supposed to" do with it - how to implement it responsibly.
As with many things in life, there is something of a paradox around responsibility, one that takes maturity to learn how to deal with wisely. And even then, sometimes we just don't know what the fuck we're supposed to be doing.
On one hand, if we're given insight or knowledge that can make a positive difference and benefit others - perhaps there is a responsibility to pay it forward.
On the other hand, maybe it isn't always our time and place to intervene in others' affairs.
Just because we might have answers, doesn't mean it is automatically our place to give them. Perhaps there are even cases where the responsible, wise thing to do might be to withhold secrets. Perhaps it might sometimes be irresponsible and unwise to share certain things before the time is ripe.
And perhaps, there are times when observing something requires us to respond with care. Yet, what are the limits...?
How can we truly know what is and isn't our responsibility to take on...?
As these fine gentlemen have stated, perhaps there is a responsibility we have to take a stand when things just ain't right.
Maybe they are correct - and failure to do anything when we see evil going down puts part of the weight of such evil on our shoulders to bear, perhaps some karmic payback for not having enough balls to be the grownup and offer a slap on the wrist where it's due.
Though, let's be real - there's no fucking way any of us could ever intervene in every shitty situation we see going down in the world.
Political leaders in nearly every country are making decisions such a stance would require us to speak out against. Muslim immigrants spreading through Europe raping hundreds of women and doing "honour" bombings. Corporate leaders making decisions damaging the environment and having destructive consequences on human health. The list could grow pretty large pretty fast.
Though what are the limits on the responsibility we can take for all of that?
We might be standing by and watching - despite wishing we could do something about it all. But with only 24 hours in a day, where would we even start...?
Maybe these guys aren't right.
Maybe it's a fine idea with honourable intentions. But not exactly realistic, considering the sheer amount of ill shit taking place on the global stage - which thanks to the internet, we all have constant updates on.
Maybe it's the same line of thinking as the rhetoric of the personal development, "spiritual," motivational cultures, the "you are 100% responsible for what shows up in your reality - you attract what you vibrate, etc." In other words, bullshit.
Maybe it isnt our place to take on all the world's ailments on our own shoulders, and attempting such would amount to little more than self-righteous, narcissistic arrogance, through the thinking we are so smart and powerful so as to manipulate the course of human destiny according to our ideals of how it should be unfolding.
There is a concept at the core of Taoist philosophy...
"The Tao does nothing and nothing is left undone”, is a pearl of ancient Chinese wisdom inspired by the Tao Te Ching written by Lao Tsu. This is not an admonishment to be lazy and do nothing, but rather, this is a call to exercise Wu Wei, non-striving, natural and effortless action, following and surrendering to natural law. It means to live with an understanding of the Tao, the natural flow and rhythm of life, to live in alignment with its wisdom and not fight against its principles. Lao Tsu says, by not striving after power, a man becomes powerful, if straining and reaching for power, he never has enough. If we are always trying to do and force things to go our way, we lose sight of their true nature and soon discover that our overzealous endeavors only get in the way, and nothing is accomplished, or it leaves even more to be done. To “do nothing” means to allow the world to unfold as it will, without seeking to manipulate or control its dawning emergence. It is to allow the Tao to move naturally through us, seeing ourselves as the witness, the observer, the vessel or receiver, but not as the main actor or doer." ~source
This isn't to say the Taoist were correct in all their approaches. But they definitely passed on their share of wisdom. And something in here resonates strongly, in the context of this debate...
"Allowing the world to unfold as it will...
Perhaps, here, is the embodiment of a mature responsibility. It takes wisdom to acknowledge the natural course of things and step back to allow it all to run its course.
Yet, on the surface, this approach might appear in stark contrast of the stance above - that we cannot merely stand by and watch evil doers carry on without bearing responsibility for its perpetuance.
Where does the Truth lie...?
Perhaps, as always - in the middle...?
It's tempting, in this day and age of abundant news of corruption and horror going down in every corner of the globe, to want to make a difference.
It's tempting to buy into that logic that if we don't stand up and fight, evil forces will have already won the war.
But there is no way we can take on every fight as our own.
Maybe we can never know what Einstein, Riley, or King truly meant when leaving those quotes behind, without understanding the full context of where they came from. Or maybe they were just incomplete truths.
Maybe in looking up to leaders like them, we've cheated ourselves out of the opportunity to come into our own wisdom, approaching conflicts like these.
What is the appropriate response to take when we see crazy shit going down in the world?
Perhaps there is no absolute answer.
Sometimes, we might be called to intervene. Others, it may only be our place to observe the madness as some larger universal force emerges through its own evolution.
Maybe we're just each on our own journeys of figuring shit like this out as we fail forward - intervening where we weren't meant to, getting slapped until we sit back down and mind our own business, or lazily neglect to take action until shit gets so out of hand, we have no choice but to step up and nurture the leaders within ourselves through doing what's right and needed...
Or perhaps, both at the same time...
This is an excellent piece, @rok-sivante, and precisely so because you raise some very pertinent questions about acting in the world. There are, however, some important misconceptions about Taoist philosophy which have much to do with how the text is interpreted.
Take for example the lines "to do nothing." This does not mean - as is commonly interpreted by those who do not understand the context of the age - to be a passive observer and to simply allow events to unfold.
It means to not act from the position of an isolated, separated ego; but rather as an entity fully engaged with reality as it unfolds. To be fully engaged and fully immersed means to have entered the silence between thoughts and to position oneself from this heightened perspective.
In this way there is no mental buffer between oneself and reality as it unfolds. No thought-cage which blocks incoming perceptions. Thinking hinders full receptivity. To invoke science at this point we can say:
"Of the 400 billion bits of information per second that reach the brain, only 2,000 bits are utilized."
We must understand that the I Ching and Tao Te Ching were all written by entities who by default existed in Zen-mind (thoughtlessness, and absolute mental calm.) Nobody would have accepted these texts as credible if this were not a prerequisite.
With total mental silence more bits of information can be processed. A great symbolic representation of this is the movie "Limitless".* A pill allows the ingester to make full use of all the variables in his/her environment so to act in the best possible way in which to achieve the desired outcome.*
This encapsulates Zen-mind, and makes sense of the phrase " to do nothing."
You're doing 'nothing' because you are fully a part of the equation which is the reality of the moment. So, you are neither resisting nor separating yourself out from the flow but rather you are congruent in your movements and are capable of affecting the ultimate change.
This is known as "skillful action." Hence, it appears as if you are doing nothing because you are not discordant in your actions. But it does not translate to sitting still and fluttering your eyelids in calm repose as someone lunges at you with a samurai sword LOL. When your mind is calm then you will know how to act with each unfolding moment in a way that the Tao flows through you. The Tao cannot flow through a cluttered mind.
"Allowing the world to unfold as it will..." Does not translate to stepping back to allow it all to run its course. You are already part of the world by the fact of your presence. Even you attempting to minimize your interference will still affect the flow of events There is no escaping this fact. And it has been proven through countless experiments. As a passive observer you are still part of the equation as it unfolds.
So, these ancient texts are NOT advising that you remain at the minimal level of engagement as you go through life - that would be imbecilic.
They are, in fact, advising the very opposite: that you intensify your involvement in reality as it unfolds by shutting your mind up and allowing all of your bodily intelligence to open up in an embrace of the totality of the moment so that when you feel the urge to act (which you will) you will act in the most appropriate manner.
daaaaaaang.
you forgot the "mic drop."
this is probably the best comment I've gotten on any of my posts, ever. DEEP. amazing. wow. respects.
Cheers Rok :)
I find it really interesting how thematically I am seeing so many of us on the same page and we can be talking about different things, but it all relates to the same overall theme. I am noticing this more and more every day. I will see like 3 or 4 posts come up around the same time all in relation to a theme and will we all be talking about something totally different or a vastly different perspective of the same thing. It reaffirms the law of attraction for me, clearly we exist in complementary realities. Thanks for sharing :)
I see the assumption that wisdom comes with age all the time. Maybe people want to believe that someone older than them has the answers?
You also see the belief that just because someone was wise in one aspect of life, they are automatically wise in all aspects of life. I'll call that the Gates/Zuckerberg/Musk paradox.
Wisdom does not come with age.
Good post. Thanks.
Points! for balance...
Re-find the refined wu wei zen...
Of all the hustles and bustles we have currently in the world, you are right, its impossible for somebody to do something about it. With regards to that, still we can make a difference within ourselves.
Funny you should post this right now. I was just criticized on another forum for pointing out a deviation in the leadership of a community I am part of. The rules are clearly laid out but a group of people have taken power and do whatever they want. Somehow they have become above the law. So I am speaking out about this and am being criticized by fellow peons that I should just mind my own business. I will only cause problems and I it won't make me happy. Isn't this typical? Sit down, don't make waves while the boat heads for the breakers. I have no intention of shutting up. As a matter of fact I will speak up even more loudly. :>)
Good post. Wisdom doesn' t come with age and in some it may not show up at all. Not many, if any, are wise in all things.