Lazy Ways

Following the watercourse way argues always for a high order of intelligence, for it is more intelligent to sail a boat than to row it, even though sailing is a lazier way of doing it. Technologically it is easier to use the wind than to work against it, but in the West we haven't really awakened to the fact it would be much more intelligent for us to use the sun, the wind, and the tides as sources of energy rather than using fossil fuels. And so we live in a state of foolish ignorance.

~ Alan Watts in Taoism: Way Beyond Seeking ~

For decades, here in the US and around the world, the vast majority of subsidies and research and development funds have gone to the oil, coal and nuclear power industries. All three are far more labor intensive and polluting than solar, wind or water energy. Unfortunately, we are only now beginning to see the folly of this strategy.

The US -- the largest per capita energy user in the world -- seems very resistant to change. Our energy policies continue to be driven solely by economic and political concerns, not by environmental health concerns. As is all too typical, so-called American ingenuity shows a strong tendency to work against, rather than with, nature. And even though the ecological writing is on the wall, we continue to plow ahead in the wrong direction.

This offers yet another example of not following the principle of wu wei. Rather than allow our society to unfold in natural ways, our nation is willfully forcing things in nonsustainable ways and, when force is used, it creates tremendous amounts of friction and tension which leads to stress -- stress of the people, the national psyche and the natural world.