Meaninglessness

One can't help but think of ruthless corporate climbers, sacrificing their youth, their health, their family to make it to the top, only to find once they reach the corner office that they're too exhausted and dispirited to enjoy it. Thoughts also turn to wealthy suburbanites, straight out of Desperate Housewives, endlessly accumilating more and more possessions, bigger houses, and fancier cars; running the treadmill; taking Pilates; gossiping at the club; but ultimately plagued by a vague feeling of meaninglessness.

The way off the hamster wheel, according to Zhuangzi, is to stop trying harder, learning more, and laboriously cultivating the self. We need to learn to let go. Once we can do this, we will be truly open to the world and to other people, and wu-wei will come to us naturally.

Edward Slingerland in Trying Not to Try: Ancient China, Modern Science, and the Power of Spontaneity

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