64. Relaxed Action

The parable of ‘the Wind and the Sun’ comes to mind when I consider the different ways of taking action. What is more effective – force or relaxed warmth? The Sun and the Wind set themselves a challenge. As a man walked across a field dressed in a light coat, they decided to see who could take the coat off the man’s body. As the wind tried to blow his coat off, the man drew it ever tighter around himself. Then the sun shone gently brighter and in no time the man had to take his coat off as he became warmer…

Learning to relax in the moment during any action, seems to produce a better and easier result. This has become even clearer as I have been familiarising myself to the unexpected frustrating changes in my computer’s operating system, which I inadvertently updated yesterday. Life has supplied many such varied experiences giving enough opportunities to practice relaxed action, to the level that has changed my personality! And there is plenty of reminders that I have to keep up with the alterations as my own operating system gets updated too.

Often, it is tempting to try to control and force our beliefs and views to get a result. Unfortunately force tends to attract counter-resistance. When I first heard the phrase, ‘relax, nothing to do, just allow what is’, in a guided meditation, it helped me to finally let go and just be. This practice of deep relaxation clears and energises the mind, helping it to be ready to respond more efficiently to any unexpected situation. In the case of my updated computer, by dropping my anxiety, I have now managed to work out its new quirks and hope that it becomes like a friend once again!