Less is More

More Removes Potentiality

I’ve been thinking about the idea of “more.”

It seems like a deeply human concept.
We are constantly reaching for it.

More speed.
More power.
More technique.
More knowing (in the sense of discrete knowledge, as opposed to deeper understanding).

I even went looking for quotes about “more.” After reading a few dozen, it struck me how directional our thinking about more is. More is better.

But when I look at nature, I don’t see “more.”

A shark doesn’t think about how to get more out of being a shark. It is simply a shark, fully.
Bees don’t try to produce more honey. They produce honey.

There’s no sense that something is missing.

In Aikido and in life, I’ve started to notice that when I add “more,” I often take away alternatives.

More narrows things.
It defines me within the construct of my “more.”

On the mat, I often see us chasing it.

More technique.
More speed.
More power.

But I’m not sure “more” is what’s needed.

Our attention shapes our perception. Our mindset influences our behavior, our decisions, and ultimately our outcomes. And when “more” becomes the focus, it can pull us away from what is actually happening.

It becomes a construct not related to the moment.
A kind of noise.

So I’ve been wondering.

What if the practice isn’t about more?

What if it’s about less?

Less interference.
Less assumption.
Less need to obey the ego, allowing the moment to exist as it is.

When I meet someone on the mat, I’m not trying to do more. I’m trying to see the “us” that is already there. The connection is already there.

The question isn’t how to add to it.
It’s whether I can stop disrupting it.

Maybe Aikido isn’t the pursuit of more.

It’s about disturbing less.