According to Osho, when you feel useless and do nothing, you align with non-achievement: relax, meditate, and let existence move. Stop trying to be 'useful' - nature's abundance takes care of you, and life unfolds effortlessly. By trusting this spacious uselessness, spontaneity returns, things arrange themselves beautifully, and you are 'spoiled' by existence—that ease and care is the flavor of enlightenment.
If you stop trying to achieve and just relax and meditate, life takes care of you and things sort themselves out.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Beloved Osho, I feel useless. I do not know what to do anymore and whatever I do or plan to do turns out to be wrong or useless. There is nothing really I want to achieve, but on the other hand, when I do nothing and just hang out and meditate it seems everything is easy. Things around me happen beautifully. I feel taken care of, even spoilt sometimes. Can I just relax in my uselessness?
Govindo, it is what I have been teaching you. Be useless, because there are millions of people who are useful! Don't destroy the variety of the useless. You say, "I feel useless" -- do you think I feel differently? You say, "I do not know what to do anymore" -- do you think I know? And you say, "And whatever I do or plan to do turns out to be wrong or useless." That is really great! "There is nothing really I want to achieve." That's what all the buddhas have been teaching: Don't be an achiever. You say, "But on the other hand, when I do nothing and just hang out, meditate, it seems everything is easy. Things around me happen beautifully. I feel taken care of, even spoilt sometimes. Can I just relax in my uselessness?" Absolutely. And if you relax absolutely -- nature is very abundant; it…
Live the emptiness... because whatsoever you do can never be greater than you. Whatsoever the mind is going to do is going to be part of the mind. Mm? It is going to be a game. Once you start feeling empty there is no need to do anything on your own. Let emptiness be lived, and things start happening. Not that you do them -- they happen. Emptiness is hard in the beginning, because one starts feeling a little depressed, sad, with nothing to do. For the whole life we have been occupied with this and that, improving ourselves, reaching for, achieving, some goal... excitement, misery, failure, success -- but one is occupied. Then suddenly one feels emptiness settling -- nothing to do, nowhere to go, nowhere to hide; no ambition that can give one excitement and can create fever.
You fill me overflowing with your love. I wish I could give you everything but I have nothing. These days so many talented, skilful people have come I have no skills, no talents... I feel useless.
Sucheta, you don't know the usefulness of the useless. In fact, the useful is only useful insofar as it has a certain utility. But the useless has no limitation to it. What is the use of a roseflower? No use, but life would be very empty without roseflowers. What is the use of laughter? It is not a commodity, it does not feed people. If you are hungry it will not help. If you are ill it will not help, it is not medicine. If you are fighting with somebody it will not help, it is not an atom bomb. Of what use is laughter? That's why the people who look at life with the eyes of a utilitarian don't laugh. They don't love, because what use is love? To them it is wastage, a wastage of energy, time, life. To them it is stupid because it is useless. They…
Hui tzu said to chuang tzu: "all your teaching is centered on what has no use."
CHUANG TZU REPLIED: "IF YOU HAVE NO APPRECIATION FOR WHAT HAS NO USE YOU CANNOT BEGIN TO TALK ABOUT WHAT CAN BE USED. THE EARTH, FOR EXAMPLE, IS BROAD AND VAST, BUT OF ALL THIS EXPANSE A MAN USES ONLY A FEW INCHES UPON WHICH HE HAPPENS TO BE STANDING AT THE TIME. "NOW SUPPOSE YOU SUDDENLY TAKE AWAY ALL THAT HE IS NOT ACTUALLY USING, SO THAT ALL AROUND HIS FEET A GULF YAWNS, AND HE STANDS IN THE VOID WITH NOWHERE SOLID EXCEPT UNDER EACH FOOT, HOW LONG WILL HE BE ABLE TO USE WHAT HE IS USING?" HUI TZU SAID: "IT WOULD CEASE TO SERVE ANY PURPOSE." CHUANG TZU CONCLUDED: "THIS SHOWS THE ABSOLUTE NECESSITY OF WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE NO USE." Life is dialectical, that is why it is not logical. Logic means that the opposite is really opposite, and life always implies the opposite…
I have become quite useless. Now what do I do about my financial situation? Shall I just live on other people's expenses?
If you have really become quite useless, you have attained; now there is nothing to attain. And if you have really become quite useless, you will not bother about your financial situation. Whenever somebody becomes quite useless, the whole takes care. Still, something of the world of utility must be clinging to your mind; hence the question arises. If you have really become useless then you don't worry about it: whether the next moment you exist or not can't be a worry to you if you have really become useless. Why do you bother? If the whole needs you for his hide-and-seek, for his play, he will take care. That's why Jesus goes on saying to his disciples, "Look at the lilies in the field: they toil not, they are not worried about the morrow -- and they are more beautiful than King Solomon ever was in all his glory."…