Have you ever wondered… about wu wei? I have. The term is rooted in Confucianism as well as Taoism, the natural way of the universe. It is almost like doing nothing and letting the world come to you. It is not quite that simple, though. Ideally, we should still be doing the best next thing in as many moments as we can, but we should be mindful of how effortfully we exert ourselves. Are we attached to certain outcomes? Do we crave particular results? Those negative traits are points where we miss the point.
Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.
-Zhuangzi
Wu wei introduces resiliency as doing what we should do because it is what we should do. Marcus Aurelius talks about it as “the third thing”. If you wait for appreciation or recognition, then you did not do the thing for the right reason. Resilience allows us to remain strong in spite of no external acknowledgement beyond ourselves. We know what we have done, and that should be enough. We should not need to rely on peer pressure or crowd motivation to push on towards personal progress. As we build up and strengthen our own beliefs and virtues, then we can stand in self-assured resilience. We can sway and move as we need to without losing our roots and becoming ungrounded.
Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.
-Zhuangzi
Maybe it is wise. Maybe it is dumb. Time will tell. Stay wondrous, y’all.