Wu wei is an important concept of Taoism (Daoism), that involves knowing when to act and when not to act. Another perspective to this is that "Wu Wei" means natural action - as planets revolve around the sun, they "do" this revolving, but without "doing" it; or as trees grow, they "do", but without "doing". Thus knowing when (and how) to act is not knowledge in the sense that one would think "now" is the right time to do "this", but rather just doing it, doing the natural thing. This Taoist principle or philosophy was really a mystery to me before. I find it ironic though that something will happen without effort or by just allowing nature or the universe to do its course. Only then that I realized that this philosophy takes maturity for one to fully and totally comprehend and grasp its very essence.
There are a number of things in life which are beyond human control. And when this happens, we can't left but feel small and helpless. During those times, we wish we can just do something to ease the pain or simply forget everything. Whenever I feel that the world never conspires with me, I realized that those are the times when I should just be laid back and just wait for something until it happens. Indeed, there is "action in inaction." Like when there are things in life that popped all of a sudden, we realize that things seem better when they are unplanned, and if they are systematically and methodically planned, it turns out that they never pushed through. This suggests therefore, that even without us striving hard, the world is providing us with the support and guidance we need. Thus, we may say that there will come a time when the answers to our questions will be revealed to us, even without doing something in particular.
I guess Wu wei has been applicable to my life a couple of times before. When I was heartbroken and downtrodden, I did not really do something big to ease the pain or put everything into oblivion. I just told myself I have to relax and act normally, better yet, I told myself: charge it to experience. Unbeknownst to me, healing takes place gradually. Nature has took its course by then for eventually, the wounds have healed, the angst is gone, and even if a scar was left I knew that it made a better person out of me. And so I realized by then, we cannot always force life to yield results the way we want it to be. As the Bible puts it "There is a time for everything..." Therefore, the Taoist principle entails waiting and patience, which includes the strength to be still and be in harmony with nature, amidst the chaotic state of our emotions and the hurly-burly world.
Life is still a puzzle piece to me. I am still perplexed why despite my countless efforts, some are still in vain and bound to failure. But being reminded of Wu Wei made me stop questioning life, God's plan, and my purpose. Like a tree standing sturdy, I will allow myself to just grow, and be mature. I should stop struggling and doing excessive and futile effort. Instead, I will be in total harmony with nature and believe that it has the power to bring about the change I want. It takes time and patience, indeed, and just let it be.
Having realized all these things enabled me to be in better terms with myself. Now, I can say that I am in solitude and I learned to handle my emotions better. And if there are still things that's bewildering me, I take a deep breath, relax, slow down and tell myself: "don't worry, the universe will reveal the answers to me, my prayers will be answered, in due time." Life is wonderful enough and it knows when trees should yield fruits; hence, we just have to go with the flow and we can respond perfectly to whatever situations arise. Besides, we have an Almighty God who is in control. He knows what is best. So instead of wasting our time on extravagant things which may end up worthless, let's pause for a while and think, maybe its time to let everything be spontaneous and natural, and we will end up seeing, that there is still something in doing nothing.
No comments:
Post a Comment