One of the concept of Taoism is Wu Wei- which means "not doing". Wu Wei refers to non-action or inaction, and instead relies on letting things take their natural course without interference.
This is a difficult philosophy for westerners to wrap their brains' around.
The action of inaction? The concept of not doing? The first situations that are usually brought up are ones involving violence.
Example: A man steals an old lady's purse. Do you:
A. Pursue him and try to get it back
or
B. Just let him go and let things happen as they will.
It can be a difficult concept to apply in many situations.
I think that the main goal of Wu-Wei is to live your life in such a way as to make the gentlest impact on the world and people around you.
Go with the flow. Don't go against the grain. Don't be dramatic, don't blow things out of proportion, and don't panic.
Wu Wei is often compared to water in Taoist writings. Water itself is weak and without will, and yet it has the power to erode stone, creating new paths for it to move down. Taoists can have achieve great feats in the same manner- by embracing humbleness rather than trying to bend others to their will. One who embraces this can "Move others without moving against others."
I think this is a fantastic concept. I've often told myself that it is better to just go with the flow, and for the most part, things DO work out. But, going with the flow doesn't mean you have to let yourself flow into a negative or bad situation. Water DOES make its own path.
I believe in some of this but feel that things happen to bring reaction or thoughts out in people. Reactions don't have to be huge but maybe it will help change how they will react in the future or change a behavior in themselves. Does this follow this concept. Very interesting. Hope you'll post more.
__________________
Need Unique Holiday Gifts
Visit
HippyMom's Business Huts
~LadyHawk's Nest~ ~Indigo Garden~
~The Tie Dye Tree ~ ~HM Outreach Outlet~
~The Junk Trunk~ ~Embellished by Pristine~
~Katz Pyjamas ~ ~Cleanin’ Out The Closet~
~Crazycase's Clutter~
I need to work on this. Of course, my dh does NOT help....he is very NOT Wu Wei.
I try to "go with the flow" and not get too upset but that's tough for me.
I believe in learning from every situation, and so I can see that in your example. What did I learn from having my purse stolen, rather than getting pissed. However, I think that reactions are important, too. I think that moderating is the key....for me, at least. I need to work on NOT getting upset at trivial things, and also on actually reacting to the big things. I have a tendency to get pissed off at some small thing that doesn't matter, but when something big happens, I go numb.
Part of that is my fuse length....it's long, but keeps burning, so I'll get upset at something small because I'm burning over the last week's worth of stuff. So, letting go is something to work on, too!
Also, I tend to process big things slowly. Maybe I kind of do that Wu Wei with the big things. I don't react quickly, but instead let life flow till I figure out what I am supposed to do.
__________________
Education is like a double-edged sword. It may be turned to dangerous uses if it is not properly handled.
Wu Ting-Fang
I agree with this on some levels, and I end up telling myself to whoa and let things unfold. I have trouble with watching someone hurt and not doing anything, though. I know in the grand scheme of the universe beings get hurt and die, but it would be totally undoable to watch someone hurt my child, for instance, and just say that was the way things are flowing and not react.
I saw just now on the news that some creep snatched a little girl and drove off with her. Her father chased them down and got the girl back...he most likely saved her life. Does this mean you shouldn't react to things like that? If he hadn't the creep would have taken other children and possibly killed his child. This is a great concept that I try to follow, but I'm not clear on that part?
__________________
As the saying goes, when a door slams shut in one place a window opens somewhere else. After staring at the door for many years, it finally occured to me to go look for the open window. I discovered I like sunlight and warmth much more than peeling old doors anyway, so I climbed out the window and reveled in my discovery. I will never sit behind a closed door again, no matter how comfortable my chair becomes. Me
Mel, I'm glad you found your own open window and stepped through it.
I saw that same story, and I highly doubt that ANYONE out there would just allow their child to be taken and say, "Well, I guess I better just see how this unfolds"
However, that is such an exceptional circumstance. I think this applies to the more mundane occurrences in our lives. But I would be interested to hear others' opinions....
__________________
Education is like a double-edged sword. It may be turned to dangerous uses if it is not properly handled.
Wu Ting-Fang
I think that the main goal of Wu-Wei is to live your life in such a way as to make the gentlest impact on the world and people around you.
Go with the flow. Don't go against the grain. Don't be dramatic, don't blow things out of proportion, and don't panic.
This is the part that is fairly easy to adapt.
If we were monks or priestesses living a life of meditation, without children or parents to care for . . . if we were the kind of beings that sit in lofty towers observing the folly of ordinary human beings, then the concept would be easier to embrace as a way of life.
But - we're mostly regular people, human beans, with egos and ideas of our own.
Mom's Business Huts
Linear Mode
