Which Step First?

 There was a funny cartoon I once saw about a centipede that overthought its steps, so it forgot how to walk. Well, walking is a very natural thing to do, but if we were to logically try to figure out "which step goes first", we might end up stepping on our own toes or tripping over ourselves! The centipede analogy is an apt one to describe what happens when we get bogged down in the details and try to reduce everything to a procedure as opposed to a kind of organic unfolding or "improvisational riff".

    In fact, real "harmony", if it is ever achieved, doesn't seem to arise from a pre-given mold or plan, but often happens somewhat similar to walking itself. The two feet need to somehow negotiate their spaces so that they aren't literally tripping over each other. Another apt analogy is that of the two parts of the jaw making sure they don't bite on the tongue. It's scary to reflect that our tongue is always just a smidgeon away from being bitten by very strong teeth. Yet, at least 99% of the time, we manage not to bite our tongue. I think this is because all the parts find ways to flow with each other, leaving an intuitive space through which the other performs its part.

   Overstepping and understepping: which is worse? Perhaps they are both inevitable parts of life. To move, to travel anywhere, always involves the tension between standing and pushing forward, which are inherently opposite. To stand is to stabilize, but we can't really stand without moving. Movement is balanced by stability, which is all the more visible when we practice slow walking. Here, we can see that in order to move one leg, the other leg needs to be in a stable position that supports the whole body.

 Sometimes when we need a plan, we can observe, what happens when we don't try to overplan? Will things come together and, if so, how? It's important to observe how things really happen rather than idealizing the process in our minds to be something that is automatic or sequential. Plans always appear in hindsight, after a lot of time of non-doing.