Thursday, November 18, 2010

Wu-wei

Today I practiced wu-wei, going with the flow (or "not forcing"). It wasn't easy to do but I realize that it's much less stressful--and healthier--to release expectations and abandon pre-set plans when self-made agendas don't turn out as anticipated.

After Frances and I received haircuts from Oly the barber this morning we discovered that neither of us had cash or checks to pay for Oly's services. I felt frustrated because I had devised an impossibly long "to do" list, items I wished to accomplish in the next week before Frances and I leave for West Virginia to spend Thanksgiving with my sister.

First things first. We drove home for our checkbooks and returned to Bayfield to pay Oly. He said he'd be lunching at Maggie's Restaurant downtown so, after we settled our debt, we sat ourselves down at a table in Maggie's and ate lunch too. It was a delightful, unexpected treat to break up our chore-filled day with a delicious lunch made by someone else.

Though I initially felt peeved I still managed to tick some items off my to do list while engaging in a much more relaxed, enjoyable day. Huh. Fancy that.

I read about wu-wei in Alan Watts' book, Tao: The Watercourse Way after my afternoon TCC practice. Watts writes (p. 76):
     The principle is illustrated by the parable of the pine and the willow in heavy snow. The pine branch, being rigid, cracks under the weight; but the willow branch yields to the weight, and the snow drops off. Note, however, that the willow is not limp but springy. Wu-wei is thus the life-style of one who follows the Tao, and must be understood primarily as a form of intelligence--that is, of knowing the principles, structures, and trends of human and natural affairs so well that one uses the least amount of energy in dealing with them. But this intelligence is, as we have seen, not simply intellectual; it is also the 'unconscious' intelligence of the whole organism and, in particular, the innate wisdom of the nervous system. Wu-wei is a combination of this wisdom with taking the line of least resistance in all one's actions.
I would not claim by any stretch of the imagination that I have mastery in the wu-wei (or the way of wu). I do believe, however, that a daily practice of T'ai Chi Chih moving meditation teaches me how to release physical effort while moving. At the same time, intentional or not, I begin to learn to release mental efforts to control situations or other people. As my body relaxes my mind follows suit and eventually, I find myself in the flow.

Synchronizing with the flow of life force energy is a wondrous experience. It simply feels much better than getting caught in the backwaters of frustration, anger, or dissatisfaction. As usual, it takes practice, intention, and occasional reminders (like my experience today) to be reminded to simply let go....

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