Soulful Sundays: Agency

“Man is condemned to be free.” – Jean-Paul Sartre

Life is a canvas of agency. Every creature has needs it strives to satisfy—hunger, thirst, shelter, reproduction—and survival depends on their fulfillment. Thus, living is synonymous with seeking. Even plants, rooted in place, cast out thousands of seeds each year in an attempt to disperse their offspring—giving them a better chance at finding contentment. Humans are no different, though we take the concept of agency to new heights. Our striving reaches beyond the physical. We have an intense need to belong, to contribute, to understand, and to evolve.

In Chinese medicine, one of the most important channels in the body is called the Du Mai, or Governing Vessel. It begins at the base of the tailbone and rises through the spine, all the way to the top of the head, before wrapping forward between the eyes and terminating at the roof of the mouth. Its sister channel, the Ren Mai, or Conception Vessel, begins at the base of the tongue and descends along the midline of the front of the body, eventually linking back to the tailbone. The Du and the Ren are said to be the first two energetic pathways to develop in humans after the single-celled zygote divides into two blastomeres. This moment represents the initial separation of yin and yang—front and back, Ren and Du, receptivity and agency—and is foundational to the way qi flows in the body.

The Du Mai is known as the Sea of Qi, meaning it governs the upward movement of energy from the Ming Men (Gate of Fire) at the base of the spine to the brain. In the Yogic tradition, this energy is called Kundalini; the Greeks knew it as eros. It is the energy of agency, of striving, of evolution—a constant upward drive. The ascending pathway of qi is essential for bringing consciousness to the brain and upper orifices, for guiding qi outward to the limbs, and for transforming the food and air we consume. It is also the source of Wei Qi, the protective energy that defends against external pathogens. When this natural upward movement of qi is blocked, disease follows. Lethargy, apathy, depression, listlessness, infection, stroke, and prolapse—essentially any weakness or stagnation in the body—can result from insufficiency in the Du Mai.

Agency has a compounding nature. The more we learn to do, the more we are capable of learning. But agency in humans has a physiological limit. We can only assimilate a discrete amount of new stimuli each day. If we exceed that limit, we lose the capacity to recover for the next day. This concept is well known in the strength and conditioning world as the Stress-Recovery-Adaptation (SRA) cycle, but it applies to any form of learning. In terms of yin and yang, we can only expend as much yang as we have yin to anchor it—yin being the nutritive and restorative functions of the body. When yin becomes exhausted, one of two things happens: either a stress response is activated and the body releases even more qi to push through, or the system collapses. More often than not, the former leads inevitably to the latter. This is why stress management is a key component of evolution. We can all, theoretically, move mountains—but not all in one day. Steady wins the race.

When raising children—and also in caring for the elderly—it is important to avoid doing for them what they are capable of doing themselves. This harkens back to the “teach a man to fish” parable. We do them, and ourselves, a disservice by over-controlling. We take away their autonomy and unnecessarily overtax our own. Agency grows slowly but pays enormous dividends when invested in consistently over the long term. In a world that prizes convenience, it is incumbent upon us now to seek out our own purposeful inconveniences—the small (and not-so-small) struggles that actually make us better humans. These are often found in the places modern technology can’t quite reach.

Agency lives in the space between boredom and adventure. It shows up when we have an idea and act on it—when we choose to connect with a person or a pet instead of a phone, when we decide to go outside instead of staying plugged in, or when we open a book instead of a new browser tab. It is our birthright as sentient beings to expand our ability in the world. Our brains evolved as a product of using increasingly complex motor patterns with our hands (tool-making), our lips and tongues (speech), and our legs (bipedalism). We were literally made to stand up and reach for the heavens with both hands. We were made to solve ever growing problems.

Onward and upward.