Giving up

We cannot change ourselves by trying to change ourselves. Siddhartha Gautama tried all manner of austerities and penances before quitting them all and becoming the Buddha. Orchids make no effort. Neither shall we.

It just happens

Make no effort, Jesus said, pointing to a flower. Musician and memoirist Booker T. Jones, 74, follows through: “I don’t put any effort into trying to make music my thing. It just happens.”

As useless as that?

Love, beauty, intelligence, the virtues—nothing that matters makes an effort.

Jesus: “Why do you call me good?”

There’s no ‘try’ in consciousness.

Hafiz: “I am a hole in a flute.”