This excerpt from the Tao of Managing uses my interest in sailing to convey the practical meaning of the Tao. Quotes from the Tao Te Ching appear in red with the chapter in parentheses. The Tao of Intuition section in the Introduction contains the complete book.

Michael I've never really understood what you have to do to apply this Taoist principle of non action to the work place. I mean, I can see what it's saying about success and all that, but how can you work by not doing anything?
George Doing nothing can mean DOING NOTHING. If you learn to really DO NOTHING, with all your heart and soul, you would be rid of your stress, have no more headaches, and as a special bonus, you would actually enjoy being on your sailboat.
Michael Huh? If I do nothing, I won't get very far in the boat. For starters, it's tied up at the dock. The engine must be started, the lines released, sails raised, and on and on. I could go on for hours telling you about DOING what needs to be done for sailing.
George I can certainly see why you get headaches. To you, sailing is – a series of things to be accomplished. What I'm talking about is an attitude, not a series of actions.
Michael An attitude about sailing as doing nothing? Nice idea but hard to implement.
George

Well, consider the prospect of converting all of your daily tasks into joys instead of chores. Simply through a change of attitude. You see, you have this wonderful notion that who you are is defined by what you do. But if you can be really whole, and accept who you are,

All things will come to you. (22)
Michael My boat will just sail by itself?
George Sure. Of course, you said your boat was tied up at the dock because that's part of the essence of "boatness." So in the appropriate time and place, release the dock lines so that the boat can leave its mooring.
Michael But that means I'm going to do something.
George

No, No. You are going to experience the act of the lines being released. In the words of the Tao Te Ching:

Move with the present. (14)

Think about that: move with the present. Not "do this," or "do that," but move with the present.
Michael Move with the present, without doing?
George Exactly. You're making progress. When you view the dock lines as an inseparable part of the boating experience, the desire to accomplish anything will disappear. You will not feel obliged to perform a series of chores. You will become part of the whole. Now you are not doing; you are being. And headaches are not a part of the whole, so they will melt away.
Michael This is too much. "Boatness?" You're making up words.
George

Continue moving with the present. Release the lines. The engine engages in reverse. The boat leaves the slip. Engine to forward. Everything happens at just the right time, not too soon or too late, or the essence of sailboat will be lost.

Everything happens in the present, and you are a part of it. You're not causing it or affected by it. It's just happening. The present is in you and with you, in the boat and with the boat, in the water and with the water, and the sky, and everything. Imagine! Isn't BEING joyful?
Michael If only I understood what it WAS! It seems to me that you can't just BE without a lot of practice.
George Yes. You will have to practice. You have several decades of confused thinking to overcome. And practice is the only way to get there. But practice NOT DOING. Learn to become a part of whatever is happening and move with it. That's what requires practice.

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