Ready

Do not be tense, just be ready,
not thinking but not dreaming,
not being set but being flexible.

It is being "wholly" and quietly alive,
aware and alert, ready for whatever may come.

Bruce Lee

Comments

A friend asked me...
Should the second be read as not thinking but dreaming?

I said...

Thinking is a conscious process of the mind. When the mind is not in its conscious state of thought, it easily trips into the dreamy state. It can be either day dreaming or dreaming when sleeping. So what else can the mind do? If the mind is not thinking or dreaming, then it looses its utility. Spontaneity is what Bruce Lee tries to convey here. For spontaneous action, the mind has to be silenced.