Having done it is it. No one living–no living thing–has done it without having toughed it out somewhere, if not all the way, along the way, and they get stile points for having toughed it out with style and with grace and with Pizzazz along the way. Style points are icing on the cake. They are what sets us off as individuals worthy of applause and curtain calls, and bring out the show-off in us all.
It’s what we bring to the moment, that we get out of the moment. It’s the tune, the melody, the rhythm, the harmony… That we bring to life in our life. It’s what they remember about us when we are gone. What we leave behind. What stands out. What sets us apart. We showcase who we are in a thousand ways throughout our life. That’s it. What life is all about. Daisies and sunflowers waving in the breeze. Showing off.
The old Taoists knew all of this. Style points are all there is. The old Taoists talked about Wu-Wei, doing it without doing anything, getting it done without breaking a sweat, without moving a hair. Yin/Yang. Same thing. Being who you are and who you are not at the same time, in the same place. Doing what is called for, when, where and how it is called for in each situation as it arises by doing the right thing in the right way at the right time in the right place with everyone grading us on the smoothness of our movements in not moving a muscle, without breaking a sweat, without doing anything and yet everything is done precisely as it should be, as it needs to be done, and leaving it there in our wake for all to admire throughout the ages.
Zen is what happened when Buddhism met Taoism and the Bodhisattvas became the masters of doing-while-not-doing, but it was Taoism that they were “doing,” not Buddhism with its Dharma and its ten thousand rules about how to sit correctly and be quiet precisely in order to get it done properly, but the Bodhisattvas “just did it” all, spontaneously, automatically, naturally, being perfection without trying, without doing anything out of the ordinary. So that “Nothing special” became the mark of a true master of life for both male and female.
And that is what life is all about, across the board, around the circle throughout the universe: Doing it the way it ought to be done, when, where, and how from start to finish, from beginning to end, living like it ought to be done, with just the right touch, making it look as easy as falling off a wagon. No?
Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy 
Thank you, Jim, for your profound wisdom shared always with great skill and clearly stated. I was thinking about this very point regarding the effort, often unseen, that goes into any final outcome of note in life. There is a great deal of passion and drive required to complete a task that may appear easy but is far from it. I appreciate your insights on the concept of “doing without doing, precisely as it should be…”
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