This is an excellent piece, @rok-sivante, and precisely so because you raise some very pertinent questions about acting in the world. There are, however, some important misconceptions about Taoist philosophy which have much to do with how the text is interpreted.

Take for example the lines "to do nothing." This does not mean - as is commonly interpreted by those who do not understand the context of the age - to be a passive observer and to simply allow events to unfold.

It means to not act from the position of an isolated, separated ego; but rather as an entity fully engaged with reality as it unfolds. To be fully engaged and fully immersed means to have entered the silence between thoughts and to position oneself from this heightened perspective.

In this way there is no mental buffer between oneself and reality as it unfolds. No thought-cage which blocks incoming perceptions. Thinking hinders full receptivity. To invoke science at this point we can say:

"Of the 400 billion bits of information per second that reach the brain, only 2,000 bits are utilized."

We must understand that the I Ching and Tao Te Ching were all written by entities who by default existed in Zen-mind (thoughtlessness, and absolute mental calm.) Nobody would have accepted these texts as credible if this were not a prerequisite.

With total mental silence more bits of information can be processed. A great symbolic representation of this is the movie "Limitless".* A pill allows the ingester to make full use of all the variables in his/her environment so to act in the best possible way in which to achieve the desired outcome.*

This encapsulates Zen-mind, and makes sense of the phrase " to do nothing."

You're doing 'nothing' because you are fully a part of the equation which is the reality of the moment. So, you are neither resisting nor separating yourself out from the flow but rather you are congruent in your movements and are capable of affecting the ultimate change.

This is known as "skillful action." Hence, it appears as if you are doing nothing because you are not discordant in your actions. But it does not translate to sitting still and fluttering your eyelids in calm repose as someone lunges at you with a samurai sword LOL. When your mind is calm then you will know how to act with each unfolding moment in a way that the Tao flows through you. The Tao cannot flow through a cluttered mind.

"Allowing the world to unfold as it will..." Does not translate to stepping back to allow it all to run its course. You are already part of the world by the fact of your presence. Even you attempting to minimize your interference will still affect the flow of events There is no escaping this fact. And it has been proven through countless experiments. As a passive observer you are still part of the equation as it unfolds.

So, these ancient texts are NOT advising that you remain at the minimal level of engagement as you go through life - that would be imbecilic.

They are, in fact, advising the very opposite: that you intensify your involvement in reality as it unfolds by shutting your mind up and allowing all of your bodily intelligence to open up in an embrace of the totality of the moment so that when you feel the urge to act (which you will) you will act in the most appropriate manner.