Long ago, in a quiet village nestled between mountains, there lived an elderly carpenter named Wei. Known for his intricate wooden carvings, Wei spent his days shaping delicate animals, trees, and flowing rivers out of timber. Yet, as his fame spread, so did his worries. Every day, he fretted over the imperfections in his work, the expectations of buyers, and the legacy he would leave behind.  

One morning, overwhelmed by these thoughts, Wei left his tools behind and wandered into the nearby forest. He walked until he reached the banks of a river. Its gentle, persistent sound seemed to call him closer. As he stood by the water, Wei noticed a fallen branch floating downstream. It twisted and turned, carried effortlessly by the current.  

Mesmerized, Wei sat down to observe. Hours passed, but he felt no urgency to move. He watched leaves drifting, fish gliding beneath the surface, and the sunlight playing on the ripples. Slowly, the chatter in his mind began to fade. The worries about his craft, his reputation, and his future dissolved like mist in the morning sun.  

Wei began to visit the river daily. He didn’t meditate in any formal way; he simply sat and listened. He allowed himself to be still, to be part of the landscape rather than its observer. He forgot himself—his identity as a carpenter, his anxieties, even his ambitions. In this forgetting, Wei felt a deep sense of peace he had never known.  

One day, after many weeks by the river, Wei returned to his workshop. He picked up his tools with no thought of perfection or fame, only the joy of creation. His hands moved instinctively, free from the weight of expectation. The wooden figures he carved now seemed to flow with life, as if they too had been shaped by the river.  

When villagers came to see his new work, they marveled at its simplicity and grace. “How did you achieve this?” they asked.  

Wei smiled gently. “I stopped trying,” he said.  

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The story reflects the Taoist idea that by letting go of the self—your attachments, worries, and ambitions—you can align with the natural flow of life. Like Wei, when we stop forcing and striving, we often find that things take their natural course, and beauty emerges effortlessly.