“There is a principle which is the basis of things, which all speech aims to say, and all action to evolve, a simple, quiet, undescribed, undescribable presence, dwelling very peacefully in us, our rightful lord:
we are not to do, but to let do;
not to work, but to be worked upon;
and to this homage there is a consent, not only of all our will, but of all our understanding. And when the soul says ‘Behold!’ the whole universe is emboldened to follow. A holy resignation is then ours; and all things proceed to us and to others from a new life, a new intelligence, a new will; they come to us with sudden enlargements of power.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
I took up golf again last year, after a 25-year break.
Last week, I played my first game of 2025 and noticed something:
I’ve made progress. A lot, actually. (Still plenty more to go mind you… but we take the wins where we can. 😉 )
Golf is a funny game. It tests you on every level—mental, emotional, physical. And the real enemy?
Tension.
The more you try to control the outcome, the more you push it, even subtly…the more it slips away.
Which is why Emerson’s words above struck a chord.
Though written in another century, they feel fresh and alive.
There’s something timeless in the reminder that real power doesn’t come from force—it comes from allowing. From alignment. From letting something deeper move through us.
We live in a world obsessed with doing. Pushing. Controlling. Achieving.
But what if our greatest breakthroughs didn’t come from more effort—but from less resistance?
Emerson points to something deeper: a principle or intelligence that exists quietly within all of us.
It’s not loud or forceful—but when we align with it, something shifts.
A new life, a new intelligence, a new will begins to guide our actions.
In those moments, the right ideas appear. The right timing shows up. Things begin to flow. What Carl Jung coined ‘Synchronicity’ starts happening i.e. meaningful coincidences that have no apparent causal connection but feel deeply significant.
This approach isn’t about being passive.
It’s about being aligned with the real power inside. It’s not about stepping back—but about stepping into something greater than the limited self.
So this week, a reflection:
Where in your life are you over-trying, over-efforting?
And what might happen if you softened your ‘grip’?
—if you let go just enough to let your deeper intuitive intelligence lead the way?
Best,
Shane
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