See the ball, move the ball.
In other words, there is no opponent, there is no competition, there is no attachment to outcome; there is only the job of moving the ball. There is no need to personify an enemy; there is no need to manufacture violent emotions. Simply see the ball; move the ball.
(The following is an excerpt from my post: A Simple Explanation of the Tao Te Ching -- Verse 68.)
ReplyDeleteBegging the question: In this game of life, how do you know if the ball needs moving? You will find yourself there in some situation; you will see a ball that needs moving; you will be in an excellent position to move the ball; therefore, your job is to move the ball. That's all. Your job is not to harm or crush any other UC in order to move that ball. If the Universe has some need for the ball to move, it will be moved. The Universe has arranged circumstances to put you there to move the ball. If someone else winds up doing the job instead of you, that's great, too. It doesn't really matter who in particular gets the job done, as long as it gets done--or not. You can only do your job; you cannot enforce an outcome. It may be that your job was to demonstrate that, despite best efforts to move that ball, that ball will not be moved. In this manner, we not only cooperate with one another, but we cooperate with the Universe, and the metaversal principles it embodies.
I like the notion that there is no opponent and no competition besides our own self. When we identify someone or some challenge as our competition, that is the switch that turns on that part of us that externalizes the competition or threat rather than recognizing that we are trying to overcome things within ourselves that interfere with optimal performance and response. That response may take the form of our inner voice whispering to us that we are not up to the challenge, it is dangerous, the other person is better than we are, we have never won this before, etc. In John Wooden's They Call Me Coach, he discusses this in a similar manner. His teams were never supposed to see other schools as better or worse than them. The players were trained to perform at their best level and if that was good enough, they would have a higher score at the end of the game. They were competing with themselves to be their best.
ReplyDeleteSuch great advice from the Coach. You can see by observing great athletes and other performers like great dancers that when they are in the zone they are doing just that--they are lost in the game or the dance; ego has been replaced with alignment to perfect form.
ReplyDeleteImagine if we all did our best in all arenas without thought to competition--how smoothly things would run!
I understand this as: my mind is clear and detached. no judgments at all . Innocence is a great state of being.
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