Whenever productivity is discussed, time management is the focus of it.

Let’s throw it out the window for now. It is more effective to think about it as attention management.

It’s more effective because of one basic premise — that at any given moment, our attention can only be of one thing.

When we talk about multi-tasking to increase productivity, we are doing multiple things within a given period of time, but we are not multi-tasking in each moment. It is not possible.

In geek terms, we are in fact only doing program switching or multi-threading, which is fake parallel processing, instead true parallel processing. To parallel process, you need multiple CPUs… well, each person is like one CPU, and one person cannot be more than one person.

Our attention cannot go two place.

You can try, but it is not possible.

Attention is the key in everything we do. To do something well, is to have your attention with it. Hence the phrase, “be one with what you do”.

When you are talking with someone, is your attention on that person? And that your attention is not on what you think about him. Not on what others had said about him. Not on what you are going to have for dinner. To communicate and truly connect, your attention is to be on that person.

When you are doing a task, is your attention on the task? And that your attention is not on how tough it is, how long it will take you, how frustrated you are, or worrying about not doing well. To do the task well and as efficient as possible, your attention is to be on that task.

Be one with what you do.

Pay attention in the moment.

When we don’t pay attention to what we do, or rather pay attention to everything else, physical or mental, but what we do, we do not do well and we make a mess of things.

Consequently, instead of how to allocate time, it makes more sense for us to pay attention to allocate where our attention goes. We can also have a good idea of our priorities, which when said is what we truly care, by seeing where our attention goes.

On a personal note, whenever I became aware that I am paying attention to my worries, frustrations, and other thoughts and emotions with the task on hand, I realize I am off track. Then I acknowledge, accept, and take note of those thoughts and emotions, and move my attention back on to my task on hand — things that are of priorities to me.

I end today with a story that goes something like this…

A serious student visited a Zen master and said, “Master, I know you are busy, so please write on this scroll some maxims of the highest wisdom for me to study.” And the master wrote, “Attention.”

The student was puzzled, and said, “I don’t understand.”

And the master wrote “Attention. Attention.”

“But all you’re doing is writing ‘attention’. Isn’t there anything else?”

And the master wrote it three times running: “Attention. Attention. Attention.”

Exasperated, the student demanded, “What do you mean by ‘attention’, anyway?!”

“Attention means attention,” the master replied.

Where does your attention go?

I actually find it quite enjoyable to stay around home, and I got everything I need here. I want to be here. I enjoy being here. But of course, if I must go somewhere, then I will enjoy being here over there too.

This is as opposed to the common desire to take a vacation to have a good time, to escape from it all. The I-want-to-be-there attitude. So really, instead of being over there, we can all learn how to be here more often.

The feeling is, that I want to be here while everyone else wants to be there.

The truth is, as long as I can be totally here, then I can be everywhere with no trouble.

The consequence is, if a person always wants to be there instead of here, then everywhere he goes will still be trouble.

See what I’m sayin’?

Our health!

Long Lost Health

We have gradually come to behave the ways we are today such that we have forgotten what it means to be healthy. We have forgotten that our body has amazing intelligence to do what is best for us. We have become oblivious to when our body tries to communicate to us. It is the same as how we have become unaware of our own thoughts and emotions and mistaken them as who we are.

Our Silent Body

Actually, our body is not so silent. Here is what we do. When our body feels pain, we pop pain killers. When our body makes us sneeze, cough, diarrhea… we pop anti-histamine drugs. When all else fails, we swallow antibiotics or remove the ailing parts of our body. But alas, there is always a reason why our body feels that way. There are reasons for symptoms to happen!

Instead of trying to help, we do everything to tell our body to shut the hell up, and we wonder why we are not healthy. We silence our body.

Basics of Supply and Demand

We wonder why are health care costs going up?

Well, we are paying a shit load of money because on the average we are un-healthy and are on our way becoming un-healthier. And we will continue to get un-healthier if we don’t stop and reconsider what it actually means to be healthy.

As the un-healthy trend stated above develops, there becomes no wonder that health care cost is shooting up exponentially. There are many factors involved, but we play a part in the increase because we are increasing our demand because we need them (actually, it’s that we THINK we need them). Because we think we need them, they can push the price up on us. Basic supply and demand rule in capitalistic society.

Perverted Capitalism is not Helping

Today, our capitalism has become perverted in the sense that profit is of higher priority to quality products and services. Therefore, on average, it is not in the medical and health care industry’s best interest to make you healthy. I said on average because there are still good doctors and kind physicians out there.

My Skeptical Mind…

And let me say this… that one cannot help but wonder, if the medical field today has deterred from the true meaning of doctor, if we read the original Hippocratic Oath, and then we look at the side effects and deaths related to drugs, and then we also look at the health care system being one of the leading causes of death.

Wait, what about “never to do harm”? I don’t think that is one thing too much to ask for from a doctor… Hmmm, yeah, I do wonder. Doubts aside, I know one thing for sure, which is intuitive, and it is that drugs are not to be a norm in everyday life, and doctors are best performing their jobs when they are least visited.

Back to Health

Let’s set aside my skeptical mind. And Yes, if you broke a bone or have some serious conditions, do go to a doctor. However, it is your responsibility to ask intelligent questions, to learn about what’s happening to your body. Your health is your own responsibility. That is the truth, and it is worth repeating.

Your health is your responsibility.

Only you can help yourself to be healthy.
The key is not health care.
The key is our health.

Therefore, no policy, no plan can solve our “health care” problem because our problem is not “health care”. That is missing the point.

And therefore, we must re-establish the concept of health. First, let us revoke what we seem to think it is but not.

Health is NOT Non-Disease, Non-Illness

We need to truly start looking after our health, which again, does not mean non-disease or non-illness. More technology, medicine are not going to make us healthy. They probably can keep us alive longer. They probably make us feel better in short term, which is synonymous to our irresponsible and instant gratification desiring mentality that also is manifested through our subprime mortgage, consumerist-related issues.

But technology and medicine making healthy for us? Nope. They can help, but for now, they are not really helping because of our misuse.

By the time you start having symptoms, and full-fledged illness, you are already quite far from being healthy, and one last stress factor to the body has brought you over the edge.

Real Change

We need to change. We don’t need the health care system to change for us. We don’t need change that creates a health care system that allows and validates our indulging behaviors in lifestyle and diet. We need to accept that we have developed a lifestyle that is against our own body’s nature, our health.

We need to stop delegating our responsibility to experts. And definitely stop using our genetic disposition as excuses. (Yes, there are unique and extreme cases but most of us are not.)

Being Kind to Others

You may ask, what about being kind?

I understand the concept of being compassionate and charitable. That is why I would ask you, “Is validating other people’s bad behaviors, enabling irresponsibility of one-self a compassionate and charitable action?”

100% Responsibility to Health, to Life

Until you take full responsibility for your health, for yourself, you will always be in trouble. Until you look at your life holistically — body, mind, and spirit — your life will always be “in pieces” because that is how you are treating it. So we have a unique different approach/pattern to treat each piece; meanwhile, we completely overlook that those pieces are all connected. Life is all aspects as a whole!

Final Summary

Health is not difficult. If I must sum up what one needs to do to become and stay healthy, I’ll say 3 things and a few sub-points for each:

1. Balanced lifestyle
   • Are you constantly stressed out?
   • Do you spend more time working than sleeping?
   • Do you vegetate in front of TV for many hours and claim you don’t have time to exercise
   • Do you take time to connect with others (while not worrying about other things)?
2. Balanced diet
   • How much processed and junk food (mostly empty calories) do you eat?
   • Do you rely on supplements and disregard your regular meals?
   • Do you drink enough water?
   • How much real and/or organic food (useful calories with things body can use) do you eat?
3. Thoughtful and sufficient exercise
• Do you exercise regularly?
• Do you exercise with mindfulness (vs. just going throught the motion)?
• Do you challenge your body to fix your physical weakness?
• Do you ever dig deep enough to understand what exercise you need? (ie. knee pain could be caused by incorrect use of the ankle or hip joints, etc.)

Health only requires a bit due diligence on our part, related to the 3 aspects above, to assist and support our body in what it does. Each of us has to realize what health truly means. Each of us has to rediscover what healthy feels like. Each of us has to relearn how to listen to our body.

And nope, no one else can do it for you.

PS. You don’t have to agree and believe everything I wrote, but don’t you think at least some of them are worth considering? Your health is up to you.

Let’s say we become misanthropes. Woot! What? You don’t want to be a hater? Well, let’s assume a misanthrope who is harmless to others, so more like an anti-social-ist… not anti-socialist. There’re already plenty of anti-socialists, defenders of democracy… er, moving on.

Anyways, let’s see how it can work to our advantage.

No need to pull words out of your @## with people.
No “strangers” weddings to attend.
No birthday and holidy gifts/cards to buy.
No peer pressure that demands purchase of the fashionable Capri Pants, or crocs (yuck!).
No siblings, relatives, friends who can demand a 0% interest “loan”, which doesn’t even guarantee they will remember you when you die.
No need to be nice, sweet, politically correct.
No more running around like chicken with head to make yourself feel important.

More time and space to relax, check!
Much much less mental and emotional stress, check!
Less detrimental factors (food, drink, late night) to health, check!
Money save, check!

Now, is not being misanthropic an excellent idea?

There are moments when I feel misanthropic where it’s perfect because you realize Earth would be so awesome without us… Don’t you have such moments? I do. Don’t lie, I know you do too. Guess that’s why I love the comic Pearls Before Swine. I see “the Rat” in me.

Okay okay, that is a bit nuts and over board, but we can realize some meanings and truth about the idea. Just that it is unnecessary to take it to extreme to be completely misanthropic.

Perhaps it means for us to re-define who friends are.
Perhaps it is nice for us to meditate on the meaning of connecting with one another. (and all these social networks)
Perhaps it illustrates the importance to be conscious of who, what, and where we are spending our resources.
Perhaps it tells us we each need space to be still, discover, learn, and be responsible to the self better before anything.

Or, perhaps nobody gives a damn.
That it does not mean anything.
That people just want their drama.
But I got my Facebook vanity URL, ha!
And I am going to bed.

Directly translated, Wu Wei (無為) means no action. But that completely loses the meaning, and it may lead people to think it is some sort of fatalism. Wu Wei is not no action, or not doing anything. A better English interpretation would be that Wu Wei is the way of non-striving.

The following questions are why it is very very relevant for our every day life. Ask yourself, are you struggling? Are you trying very very hard to become or achieve something? Do you feel that you deserve that something because you work very hard? And when you don’t get it, you feel sad and suffer?

This may sound mad and completely contrary to common sense that we are taught. My realization is that when we try so hard, try too hard, often we don’t get what we want. And if we do get what we want, we make a mess that require more effort to clean up than the effort we spent getting what we want.

Hence, I think it is important for us to realize Wu Wei. The way of non-striving. They always tell us to innovate and think outside the box, right? Well, here we go.

Wu Wei — the Way of Non-Striving. It is action without striving, without trying. It is more like natural action. Action that fits in the flow of situation, relevant to the objective reality, and support the many dualistic relationships we have.

Stop trying.

When you try, you don’t do. (you are not 100%)
When you stop trying, you simply do. (now you can be 100%)

Sound simple? It is. Is it easy? Not really. It requires much practice.

Whatever it is that you want to do, we continuously pay attention, learn, understand, practice, and repeat the process. At some point, after enough practice and repetition, you can let it go. Then you simply do.

Primarily, wu wei is recommended to be applied to living life… a life of awareness.

Some examples base on personal experience…

Like a pianist who needs to perform a piece, after much practicing, he knows exactly which keys he needs to hit and how exactly wants to hit it to convey his emotion. When he perform, he simply does it. However, if he has to think about it and tries to hit the key the way he wants, he will miss or play the note different than the original intention. Not only, he probably will lose his flow to finish the whole piece.

Same thing for a vocalist. The mere act of trying to hit a high note will disable his ability to do so because of the muscle tension that is generated from trying.

The same thing for basketball player. The talk about about play being “in a zone” or shooting “in rhythm”. Do you think the player is thinking how he wants to shoot the ball when he shoots the ball? Nope. He simply does it.

We always say we must be free. But the mere thought of that we must be free binds us to a concept which takes away the freedom.

We are always told that we must be happy. But the mere thought that we must be happy makes us try so hard to find happiness that we are not happy.

Our over zealous effort to control all things in life are nothing but self-defeating proposition. This “fighting” mentality is one such common sense that can be let go, if you sincerely want good things to happen.

One cannot ALWAYS be happy.
One cannot be perfect.
There is up and down.
People come and people go.

See things as they are and then simply react. Can you do that? Do you have doubt? Then you will keep striving.

There is nothing you can do about the problem because there is no problem. All the drama in life are all self-created. Yes, it is very real when you have created it. But can you not create it? Can you live without drama? Do you need to be excited, surprised, elevated all the time? Then it will be no end in sight. It will be a moving door.

There is not an end to strive for. That doesnt mean you do nothing. That means whatever you do, with realization of Wu Wei, you WILL do your best… you are held back no ideals nor desires. If you must conceptualize, it is doing for the sake of doing, for that moment of greatness. That is being in the flow. That is “playing in a zone”.

Without striving, you stop trying too hard.
You act when it is the time to act.
You don’t act when it is the time to not act.

How do you practice? For most of us… Slow down. Stop. Allow silence. Be Still. Breathe. Pay attention around you.

Because of this realization, I am very wary to use terms such as “fight for”, “to defeat”, “to beat”… how we claim we need to “fight for peace”, or that “love and compassion can defeat suffering”. But there is nothing to beat. When you are aware, realize how all things are connected, you act without striving — Wu Wei. We all simply love and be compassionate, and we simply do it because not just that it is good for us, but that things can be so much worse.

Let go of striving and you will also let go of suffering. You don’t try to let go. You simply let go. And by then, we no longer need to fight violence, no longer need to defeat suffering, no longer need to fight… we would “win” without a fight.

Additionally, in the act of fighting, attempting to defeat negativity, we validate the very negativity we want to defeat. We emphasize the negativity, and we make it an important thing in life. Is negativity what you want in your life? If not, then let go. Not saying they are not real. You decide for yourself if your pain, depression, problems are so important that you MUST fight to remove them. When you do that, are you not putting more emphasis on them instead, and with emphasis, are you not keeping them in your life?

The negativity may be very real it may take some time, but slowly, let it go bit by bit. Through practice, you simply let go. You act without striving.

But if you are a courageous, you just let go. In an instant, you would have learn Wu Wei. You ARE free. You no longer need to try to be free.

Practice, is simply living life with awareness. Observing yourself mentally and physically. Observing others around you. Observing events around you. Don’t try to see. Simply pay attention. As you learn to pay attention, the more and more you will come to see. Living in awareness becomes natural. And over time, life seems to be become easy.

If you can learn and live Wu Wei, I doubt your life will then be “that bad”.

You stop making a mess by trying too hard.
You act or not act without striving.
You simply are you.

PS. This is kind of a sequel to The Agenda Mentality – Doing is Always a Mean to an End.

Life in the existing reality is a combination of countless relationships between dualistic elements. Therefore, solutions to problems in reality can only be a compromise within each relationship. UNLESS, you choose to destroy that relationship.

Knowing that, we should know to be cautious when we proclaim that we need to defeat this or we need to beat that to solve our problems in real life.

If you take away sadness, you will not be happy. (Therefore, it’s a futile battle against depression.)
If you try to control or take over someone else’s life, you are destroying your relationship with that person. (It will become one between owner and slave.)

All the duality in life…

Happiness and sadness.
Saving and spending.
Student and teacher.
Certainty and uncertainty.
Selfishness and selflessness.
Good and evil.

Our well being, along with nature’s well being, is when duality is kept in balance without one side overpowering the other. Therefore, an aware person’s solution to a “problem” is always one of compromise to bring balance back.

Remember, compromise.

Interestly, there seems to be quite a bit of support for the runaway couple. There are even two Facebook groups created that support them – Go Leo Gao – Go You Good Thing! and We Support Leo Gao and his 10 Million Dollars – Run Leo Run.

The question I ask is not whether this is right or wrong or if you support is. The question I ask is…

If you had also gotten the money from the bank, would you choose to runaway?

For me, it is obvious that it is not worth it. First, there is the risk of getting caught. It is not likely that one can get away with something like this so easily. Secondly, even if I manage to get away at first, it will mean that I had to play hide and seek for, at least, an extended period of time if not my entire life, and that means I cannot even enjoy the money. Lastly, the instant money would not be something that I had earned myself and that simply takes away the entire enjoyment factor of earning it and thus no longer can I enjoy what I earn.

What about you?

People love to identify themselves with certain identity or idea and then become advocates, enthusiasts, or zealots. Nothing wrong with that. It only becomes a hindrance when we forget that identity and idea are merely identity and idea, which is creation of someone’s mind or of our own and that other identities and ideas exist outside of the realms.

More specifically, we love to identify the good and the bad in life, and we do whatever it takes to stick with the good and avoid the bad at all cost. As such, we overlook the opposites are never apart from each other. Opposites exist because of each other. We have forgotten this.

The degree of goodness is solely dependent on the degree of badness that exists. In the pursuit of the greatest happiness, we inevitably generate the greatest sadness. In the pursuit of greater excitement and thrill, we create even greater boredom.

Good does not exist without bad.

Just like for a hero, for one to continue to be a hero, he needs a villain, and to be a greater hero, a greater villain must be created. Without villain, there is no hero. That is how either a hero becomes a villain, or go crazy holding onto the title of hero when his villain dies, and thereby becomes a villain himself… and allowing someone else to become hero.

Therefore people shall be thankful for their opposites. Like most recently, the anti-abortionists protesting about Obama… They should be thankful for his and pro-abortionists’ existence, otherwise, they would not be so important, be able to perform “meaningful” actions, and perhaps be bored doing nothing. The opposite is also true.

The same can be said of something more mundane — being a parent. When does someone become a parent? When his or her child is born. However, as the child continues to grow, one day would no longer be JUST a child. But, often time, parents are not able to cease and let go of the role of being parents (especially Asians). You see, parent is just a role, a label, an identity. It is not you, not your entire being. Yes, perform the responsibilities of a parent, but you too shall grow out of such role, as the child has from being a child. When you holds on to being parent, you lose the self.

You are not just a parent now, are you? If you must act like and think like you are completey and only as a parent, aren’t you turning yourself into someone who is capable of no tasks outside of being a parents?

It’s the same when people hold on to any identity. Holding on to anything makes one lose the self. It is the desires for permanence for these labels and things that are and will never be permanent that causes pain. What’s the saying?

Desire and attachment are suffering. [only if we don't see them for what they are]

We don’t need to discard our current ways of life. We do not have to discard our identities. Otherwise, don’t we all need to become monks and nuns?

We can simply see that they are just ways of life and identities. Then we start to learn and begin to see more and more inside and outside of ourselves. From seeing, we will naturally behave differently. And if you must want a reason, you will change for the better.

We can still pursue happiness or whatever else, but perceiving duality means that we then know it is a mere pursuit, not everything, not our entire life. When we find awareness to see this, we find peace. We learn to be content. We see things as they are, which include both the good and bad. Because of that, we learn to flow with the way things work, enhancing our effectiveness, confidence, and decisiveness.

Therefore, the capability of letting go lies not in literally letting everything go but being aware that things are just what they are. Ideas are ideas. Feelings are feeling. Thoughts are thoughts. Good can mean bad. Bad can mean good. All such concepts are mere creations of someone else’s mind or of our own. If we are controlled by them, does not it mean we are controlled by our own minds?

Seeing is letting go.

It’s almost like a game. And it is. It is a game, though we live as if it is not, and we get lost because we have made things so complicated. It is a game, where many many dualities work opposingly, yet cooperatively. A symbiotic relationship.

Though, one may need some courage or so called “leap of faith” to accept this “absurd” idea that life is a game. Anyways.

Ironically, this is not a game to be beaten. Because how can someone beats life? If one beats life, wouldn’t it be death?

Instead, enough is for us to see that it is a game. When we know it is a game, we stop living as if we a struggling to live. When we stop struggling to live, we begin to live, and our perception improves (no longer held back by illusions). When we gain perception and awareness, we learn to see dualities. We then learn the rules and learn to live better. As we live better, we learn more and more and become more interested about life — this wonderful game. Then we simply keep learning and living, truly as a human being, and it is no longer because we need to beat it, or that we must survive — as we already know it is a game.

From perceiving duality (awareness), we find peace amidst chaos.
From finding peace, we flow calmly within the game.
From seeing it’s a game, we let go and simply play.
From letting go and playing, we become curious in the seemingly mundane.
From curiosity, we gain more and more awareness (perception of duality).

From all those, we lose our identities and grow the real Self.