Willingness implies a surrendering of
one’s self-separateness, an entering into, an immersion in the deepest
processes of life itself. It is a realization that one already is a
part of some ultimate cosmic process and it is a commitment to
participation in that process. In contrast, willfulness is the setting
of oneself apart from the fundamental essence of life in an attempt to
master, direct, control, or otherwise manipulate existence. More
simply, willingness is saying yes to the mystery of being alive in each
moment. Willfulness is saying no, or perhaps more commonly, ‘yes, but…’

But willingness and willfulness do not apply to specific things
or situations. They reflect instead the underlying attitude one has
toward the wonder of life itself. Willingness notices this wonder and
bows in some kind of reverence to it. Willfulness forgets it, ignores
it, or at its worse, actively tries to destroy it. Thus willingness can
sometimes seem very active and assertive, even aggressive. And
willfulness can appear in the guise of passivity. Political revolution
is a good example. — Gerald May