Focusing's foundational question,
"Except for what is everything just fine?"
is trumped by the realization,
"It's all useless, hopeless, pointless, futile,
stupid, ludicrous and absurd--
and coming to a very bad end
(We are all going to die).
But other than that, it's all great."
Which itself is negated by the counter-realization,
"How do we know the end is actually the end
or all that bad?
It could be the opening to wonders beyond imagining!"
And, "All of our reasons for giving up,
caving in, rolling over and calling it quits,
are themselves trumped by the simple shift in perspective
which asks,
"So what if it is all useless, etc.?
What difference does it make if nothing makes a difference?
Who cares if nobody cares?
Why not give it our best effort,
even if it does no good?"
And, dedicating ourselves to the eternal service
of the good of the moment
beginning right here, right now,
doing what is called for,
when, where and how it is called for,
anyway, nevertheless, even so--
moment after moment,
time after time,
for the joy of doing it
and the satisfaction of having done it,
always and forever, Amen!
Fidelity to the good of the here/now,
with fealty, filial loyalty
and unwavering devotion,
is the solution to all of our troubles,
now and always.
And is the sacred ground
at the heart of Focusing
in all times and places.
Getting up and doing what needs to be done,
when, where and how it needs to be done,
no matter what,
forever,
restores us to our soul,
and our soul to us,
day after day.
It only takes doing it
to know that it is so.
–0–
Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy 
There is a quality of ‘being’ in the moment of ‘doing’ something, which determines our whole attitude towards whatever is done! This quality of ‘being’ when the focus of our attention, has a way of spontaneously transforming the way we ‘do’ whatever we are doing at that time.
When we focus on the ‘doing’ part alone, it may require a lot of effort, reasoning, will power etc. to do something we do not necessarily ‘want’ to do…but when the focus is on being (alert, aware, present to the needs of the moment), such doing comes forth effortlessly (the wu wei kind of non action).
LikeLiked by 2 people
Forgetting wanting, or wanting being only shifts us into the state of being that is ready for anything that is called for by the situation at hand. This kind of perennial readiness qualifies us as being one with the Tao at all times, in all places.
LikeLiked by 2 people
This is the way to living in alignment with the flow…always, free from conflicts of “wanting, choosing” etc.
LikeLiked by 2 people
When the Left Brain barges in to save the day by reasoning everything out in a logical, taking everything into account, kind of way, it’s all over.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it may be tricky to sometimes see clearly, what is coming from left and what is coming from right brain! In situations when it gets blurry, where we think something is intuition, but it is actually a subconsciously processed logical reasoning motivated by selfish desires (wanting). How do we determine which one it is for sure and how can we be sure…? (I have struggled with this)
LikeLiked by 1 person
We can’t know what we are doing and dance, or walk, or ice skate, or ride a bicycle, and the more we think about it, the less we can do it, yet we all can dance, or walk, or ice skate, or ride a bicycle. Being in the flow is this way.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes, it s easier to trust our body…the muscle memory does not need our conscious input for it to function. But what I find more difficult is when it is not about the physical actions but mental ‘decisions’…say choose this job over that, or decide to renovate something or dump it to buy new, socialise with someone or try to politely get out of it…things more ‘practical’ and mundane 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
I found this to be today’s theme in several posts from Websites I follow. There is a quote by Howard Zinn that seemed to speak to this theme that came from a new book by Brian McLaren titled “Life After Doom.” (All of Chapter 6 of the book was included in Diana Butler Bass’s Substack “The Cottage.”). [I couldn’t copy and paste the quote, but you will find it if you read the post below].
https://open.substack.com/pub/dianabutlerbass/p/life-after-doom?r=ew3g&utm_medium=ios
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the link, Sandy! It is amazing, the wonder of coincidental-ness, with things coming together in ways that demand/require the realization that we are not in command here and have no idea of what is “running the show”! Giving us the umph to “Get in there and do your thing and don’t worry about the outcome!” We are not in it for the out come! “It’s just circumstances begetting circumstances all the way,” as the old Taoists would say. Are we going to dance to the music only we can hear, or not?
LikeLiked by 2 people
I have sometimes felt despair and hopelessness, but this was a wake-up call for me that your daily posts reiterate this theme!
LikeLiked by 2 people
We have to do our part as only we can can do it and let that be that, or as Lao Tzu liked to say, “Do your work and stand back. Let nature take its course.” And no one can tell us what our work is but us. If they try, they are minding our business, and the Old Testament’s 13th Commandment applies: “Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor’s landmark!”
LikeLiked by 2 people