Who will be the first to drive a stake through the dark heart of ambition? Young man! Ambition leads to competition. Competition leads to conflict. Conflict leads to death all over the place. See how swiftly ambition conjures conclusions. And how the mind shuts with a clanging sound and the ability to learn dies at the doorstep.
Of the outer world, that of form and flags, we know a lot. Of the inner world, that of emptiness and silence, we know a little. We go where our interest takes us.
The hair grows, the food is digested, the blood circulates, and we’re not doing it. Life happens by itself. Somewhere, at an awards ceremony, a competitor exults, “I did it!” No, he didn’t
The true man wants nothing, expects nothing, fears nothing. He holds no opinions. He neither opposes nor competes.
Whatever we resist is strengthened by our resistance. Two spiritual principles which amount to the same thing: (1) Resist nothing. (2) Stop trying. There will come a day when these subversives are taught routinely, as a matter of necessity. For now, ego’s handling things.
Men's Work 