In our labors we expound an essence of mind. Our mind may push our body, and if against our will, our body may push our mind. But in any respect, the best work done is that of which the mental plane comes first, as one rarely needs to act with instinct as opposed to daily reason. Upon reading many texts of the past, you will be prompted upon the struggles of culture and the clash of ideas. Then embarking in many journeys, you will be prompted upon the struggles of persistence and exploration. Nonetheless, nature cannot be forgotten in either pursuit. The yin always catches back up to the yang, and that feminine is always sought among the masculine. Our busy world cannot fulfill as well as what it claims to ultimately serve. In other words, our labors are to be natural. They are to come without too much effort. They aren't to be pretended, and if any expectation arise, that may be disclaimed with honesty for a shift in perspective to that which is no longer of pretense. Not all labor will be seen or impacted, that doesn't make it worthless. Every seed sprouts a new tree, and if it doesn't, it contributed to a tree already founded. Every effort, every being goes back to source, and so as with our labors.
Exploitation will always persist but the worst of exploitation occurs in the legitimation of exploitation, and the exploitation of self. We labor because we say we live in a hard world, and so we may labor hard, only to contribute to more hardening; how then could we be laboring for a life of ease? Our restraints must be made clear, and no amount of pushing and expectation from others should steer one away from their own autonomy and fortitude. To break the worker is to break the work, and yet many have tried to only break parts of the worker, in order to produce more work; whether in part or whole, this is exploitation and the individual is by no means obligated to obey, for they may be tempted once accepting to obey to even repair their own parts thus forming exploitation legitimized to thyself. It's the hidden forms of oppression in others or even shadows among thyself, which one ought to look for, if they are to expect an outward good. Thus discipline through honesty may be seen as best practice, if not the work of work, otherwise called the great work.
In speaking of maintaining our nature, it is just this, as it were to see beyond, whether of the past or of within or of the hidden. In each case, what is implied is an enlightenment away from ignorance. And as objects of the now cannot be destroyed, this enlightenment is necessary and often inevitable, otherwise it will be to our own destruction; hence forms what we may seem to be evolution or destiny. It is no surprise that the slaves rebel against the master, the citizens against the government or the farmer against the wealthy. Nature's equilibrium displays itself everywhere. Farmers have been oppressed for many decades despite being the backbone to all that persists in Modern Civilization, and with the advancement of technology, they will become the group that rises above those who have oppressed all groups, simply because the farmer will be merged with the everyday individual, just as the wise will be merged with the everyday individual. This is no degradation, and some see it as impossible to occur, but balances as these happen on their own, with karma to those who cannot persist in nature's path or Tao. Therefore, the technology and future will only be a threat to those who cannot wield it. And it matters not what such people complain about in regards to everyone else, but they complain in the sake of empathy for their fellow mankind in hoping they follow the same way. Hence in the path of evolutions, came many spiritual thoughts and ideologies, no surprise often concerning labor and economy or political systems, so to partake in this task. Yet some of these methods have only held back progress and even backfired into those who would employ such methods.
Showing by example therefore shows by example, as it is nature itself everyday upon our senses, if we are able to see the example laid out before us. The new examples we make can either exemplify those preexisting in nature, or counterpoise those in nature. In other words, for advancement or deterioration; but once more in either case, life moves along in an ever constant of change. Change may imply a linear line to many, but the constant of change implies a circle, for which we need not travel in circles if we were the whole circle itself. This is where the concept of letting go comes in among the process of learning and being the example. Because if ones example exemplifies truth, we need not speak for our example, since the example is the example. And if our example cannot uphold truth, it will fail to be an example, for which we can only come to terms with at best and with ease, upon letting go. This is why the sage does work and leaves, seeking no praise. This is also the expression, show and they will come, or give and so you will receive. One cannot expect to receive, then, as their focus must be on giving. And one cannot give unless they also receive. To argue one or the other comes first is futile, both need each other, just as a million dollar project gives way to a lesser and to repeat the process among new projects. The problem once more is in the lack of receiving or giving nature, for any pretension or force in an agreement will make that agreement much harder.
Wu-wei or the natural, is the effortless, the honest, the uncarved block, the clear and rational mind. In our pursuits, pretension is bound in a world of pretension, but we can only resolve by never giving credence to pretension. When someone tells you to change your passion, to change who you are, to push yourself harder, to be or act a certain way, reflect and think over it in the presence of nature, in light of knowledge about society and it's comings about; merely ask yourself where such expectations arise, why people partake in them and what problems they produce. When I sought to get land in the area, I recognized it's needs and also non-needs, I recognized my pushing and my receiving; and this process is a continuum, but it is this which keeps us content, happy and healthy in life. Big steps can be taken, but those gaps of space will come back to terms with you as you realize the space you walked upon, or how you are stretching yourself out too far. Stay in tune with nature at all times, never fall to the fears and expectations of society, most of which is self-inflicted or self-aggregated. We should worry time to time but when we do, we must realize we can't. It is merely the word perseverance, just as the word courage denotes love transformed into action.