Lao Tzu, again, this time on the strange arithmetic of the Way.
In pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired. In pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.
Less and less is done until non-action is achieved. When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.
The world is ruled by letting things take their course. It cannot be ruled by interfering.
In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired. In the pursuit of the Tao, every day something is dropped. Lao Tzu is making an observation about the difference between two kinds of work.
There is the work of accumulating, skills, certainties, identity. And there is the work of subtracting, opinions, defenses, the small attachments that keep the day frantic. The contemplative traditions agree, almost unanimously, that the deeper work is the second one. It is also harder, because there is no visible product. You do not finish each day with more. You finish with less.
What could you let go of today that you have been carrying out of habit?