Luck or effort?

four leaf cloverI have a capacity for finding four-leaf clovers.  With the odds of finding a four-leaf clover at 1:10,000, it is kind of fun to be able to look down and spot one while simply walking across the grass.

This morning I found one as I did my chi gung exercises in the park.  This park is covered with clover.  The day I first visited the park, I naturally scanned the clover for the four-leafed variety.  No luck on that day.

Today was my third time to this park.  I moved myself onto a nice piece of grass to practice and casually scanned the surrounding clover.  As I went through my routine, I contemplated under what types of circumstances I found four-leaf clovers.

If I was just sitting down going through all the clover I rarely found one.  This type of focused approach was not usually productive, or at least not very efficient.  On the other extreme, not even looking at the clover was likewise non-productive.  If I paid no attention to the clover, finding one with four-leaves would be unlikely.  So, somewhere in between was the magic.  I needed to look, but the best approach was to look only where there was a four-leaf clover.  Is that possible?

My most predictable method for finding clovers was this:  I would look down and the pattern of four leaves would catch my eye.  Of course, many times when I bent to investigate more closely, the pattern was just adjacent clovers seeming to form one.  However, many times the pattern did indeed belong to a four-leaf clover.

This morning as I contemplated the technique: look only where there was a four-leaf clover and trust my capacity, I glanced down and found my four-leaf clover.

This affirmed a life-approach question that has been in my mind for the last couple of weeks.  Is “easy does it” a viable approach to achieving lives goals?  How much effort do I need to exert to reach my goals?  Is it possible to live life from a place of effortlessness and still accomplish a lot?  What makes things happen?

Certainly, no effort will not work.  Yet it seems that the most potent part of the system was the intention to find a clover (or reach my goals), trusting my capacity, being mindful of the proper opportunities, and applying effortless effort at the right moment.  The eyes move… the clover is found.  Simple.

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