The Taoist and Confucianist concept of Wu wei

“Stop worrying so much.”

This advice is both annoying and infuriating. When you are trying to achieve anything — be it winning a competition, finding a girlfriend/boyfriend, getting a job or passing an exam — you are often so nervous about achieving it that you lose your once-cool head. Your anxiety gets the best of you.

Sadly, this isn’t uncommon. It’s part of our human nature to worry about these things. In order to rid ourselves of this, we need to learn to live spontaneously, to actually stop trying so hard. We need to try not to try.

This is the central idea to the concept of Wu wei, the Chinese term for effortless action or literally “not doing.” Pronounced “ooo-way,” it is one of the central ideas of Taoism and Confucianism. Wu wei is the flow of being “in the zone.” It’s often described as lively, effortless action, with elements of thoughtlessness and natural spontaneity.

Wu wei is integral to romance, religion, politics and commerce. It’s why some world leaders have charisma and some large industry leaders insist on getting wasted before sealing a deal.

The idea of effortless action in ancient China focused on training the mind to guide and control the body. While this is technically incorrect, it can be taught today by focusing on two systems: a slow and cold conscious and a fast and hot unconscious. When we fret over our actions and ground ourselves in thinking of the consequences, we are using the cold, slow system. Though, beneath this system is another self that is much bigger and more powerful: the subconscious.

The blood flowing through our bodies, our muscles contracting and even breathing are all examples of this subconscious. These functions are not the only factors the subconscious controls. It is also the controlling force responsible for whenever you think of resisting that delicious ice cream from the dining hall or whenever you debate about skipping that morning class because you can’t get out of bed.

The goal of Wu wei is to get these two selves to work together without struggle. For a person in the Wu wei state, the mind is embodied and the body is mindful. The two systems — hot and cold, fast and slow, conscious and subconscious — are completely in unison. The result is someone who has intelligent spontaneity and is one with their environment.

Chance is, you have already been in a state of Wu wei without even realizing it. Whenever we play a sport and start making goals effortlessly, it is Wu wei. When we have sent applications to every workplace and only get the job whenever we have given up all hope, it is Wu wei.

Whenever we are in a social situation and know we should be relaxed and confident, thinking about it more and trying harder is counterproductive. There are a lot of areas in life where it is impossible to succeed unless you’re not trying.

Worrying about the outcomes of our actions does little for us and hinders us from obtaining what we desire. But when we accept the way things are and are able to keep our cool, it can be surprising just how easy life is. The only way to live life is by going with the flow. Only then will we be the embodiment of Wu wei and be truly content.

A flowing stream exemplifies the Daoist approach of Wu-wei"' (actionless-action)

For Daoists, wu-wei is a fairly simple concept. It involves acting without desire, where desire is understood as the force that causes people and things to behave unnaturally. The natural is seen as being complementary to the Tao, while the unnatural is contradictory to it. Thus, wu-wei can be defined as “taking no action, loving tranquility, engaging in no activity and having no desires— all of which lead to natural transformation, correctness, prosperity and simplicity” (Xiaogan, 43). Two of the most common images for this mode of action are water (which naturally flows downhill) and reeds (which naturally bend, rather than breaking, when faced with a high wind). It is for this reason that the Tao Te Ching states:

The most submissive thing in the world can ride roughshod over the hardest in the world (that which is without substance entering that which has no crevices). That is why I know the benefit of resorting to no action (XLIII).

This same stress on wu-wei as a natural mode of action can be seen in the Chuang-tzu (Zhuangzi). That text describes an ideal where “all human actions become spontaneous and mindless as those of the natural world. Man becomes one with Nature, or Heaven ... and merges himself with Dao, or the Way, the underlying unity that embraces man, nature and all that is in the Universe” (Watson, 6). This can be seen as the teleological goal of the wu-wei framework.

As implied above, an innovative aspect of this Daoist conception is the association between the mode of action (wu-wei) and the normative, ontological principle (the Dao). Specifically, the Tao Te Ching suggests that, when the Dao itself acts, it acts in accordance with wu-wei: “The Way never acts yet nothing is left undone”

THINGS YOU MAY NOT NOW: In the Chinese language, wu has the connotation of nothingness, and wei refers to doing or action.” Other examples of how to practice the effortless motions and actions of wu-wei include painting and drawing, listening to a friend, or unplugging from all the technology pulling at your attention.

THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO SAVE: YOUR BRAIN...just like a computer if you continue to overload you could blow your mother board? "Stop and Smell the Roses" is even more important in modern times with all of the clickbaits trying to suck us in

ZENTRAVELER SAYS:Confucius said, “No matter where you go – there you are.” This reminds us that we always bring ourselves to any situation, baggage, beliefs, and all. It helped me realize early on in life, that you need to be your own best friend, or, life will be a rough ride.

From here to Infinity is a relatively short ride! The next leg takes eons and eons as you fly through the Barycentric Dynamical Time Zone! …and on and on and on.  Follow the Zentraveler Newsletter often for Travel, Health and Zen-like stories  and such. Where else can you get a THREE IN ONE NEWSLETTER FOR THE PRICE OF FREE.

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