Wu Wei: The art of floating

Wu Wei (Chinese) comprises of two words: Wu and Wei.

Wu: Non, not, negation

Wei: making, forcing

    The perfect translation of Wei according to Alan Watts is forcing. Hence, Wu Wei becomes “not forcing” Mr. Watts was a British writer and a speaker.  Many people confuse it with passivity. Many think it is not doing anything. It is the art of, in fact, inaction. Which, if to understand its true meaning, is untrue. Wu Wei is the art of not forcing. We, in life, are desperate at times. Wanting something so earnestly that we try to force the situation. Which, is the opposite of Wu Wei. It is in my opinion the science of acceptance. We are unhappy with our lives, many of us are. We don’t accept it in the way it is. We want something different, something new, something to the left and something to the right. We seldom say “my life is perfect,” We barely make an effort to float with our life.

    Watts explained Wu Wei in a way that says, “It is the art of floating, not rowing,” When we row the boat we force it to the direction we desire. Whereas floating has contrasting meanings. It is trusting the direction of the boat and sailing along the water. Wu Wei is the latter one. It is acceptance. It is the art of not forcing. I wrote a quote on my study table that reads:

          

We cannot see the sunrise and the sunset at the same time

Don’t try to have it all

Embrace what you have. Hold what you get.

                                                                                          Anish Ghimire    

     

I want to end with a quote from William Shakespeare that says, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at its flood leads to fortune.

Wishing a good day to the few ones who read my blogs

Chapter 1

Part 6