The agency of action

I did this. I did that. Our life is full of actions and at the centre of all actions is the doer, the sense of “I”. Through actions this I is looking to strengthen itself. A strong I equates to having done a lot and through those actions a sense of having achieved a lot. Just action is not enough, the results of that action need to be as per my and society’s expectation for the action to be considered successful.

Some of the most foundational actions that sustain life are without any agency. Do you perform the action of breathing or does it happen on its own? Even while sleeping your body breathes in perfect rhythm. And the heart beats non stop throughout life. Can you stop your heart from beating? The complex process of digestion, who controls it? Certainly not you.

Most critical functions of life happen on auto-pilot. With no one responsible for doing those actions. They just happen and happen perfectly. What does this tell us about the sense of agency of action that we all carry so acutely. That it is more of an impediment than an asset. Why? Because the cosmic intelligence responsible for performing actions gets constrained by the sense of I. That limits its power. I consider my intelligence to be separate and different from cosmic intelligence. And I place more trust on my constrained and limited intelligence to get things done.

The spiritual saying “ek bharoso ek bal ek aas biswas” meaning “I trust only the One, I derive my strength, my hopes and my belief all from the One”. When you realize your limitations and place your trust unconditionally on The Supreme intelligence governing the cosmos, you become peaceful, fearless, full of strength and ready to deal with any challenge that life brings to you.