Laozi: Preacher of non-action?
Laozi (sometimes spelt Lao-Tzu or Lao-Tze) is an ancient philosopher credited to have written the Tao Te Ching, which is one of the most translated texts in history, alongside the Bible and Quran. He’s believed to have lived in China in the 6th century BCE. The reason I say believed is because we’re not sure whether he was a real person at all! Laozi translates to “old master”, which is why some people think Laozi’s a group of people instead.
Anyways, the Tao Te Ching had a pretty big impact on ancient Chinese culture and philosophy. It’s one of the most translated texts in history, and began the philosophical school of Taoism (also spelt Daoism).
One of the core principles of Taoism is something called wu wei. When I first heard about the philosophy, it made absolutely no sense. Wu wei literally translates to non-action or not-doing. Not doing?? That’s completely against everything I’ve ever learnt. Modern American culture is all about having ambition, taking action, working hard. Those who don’t do anything are considered lazy. Taking action is the way to achieve happiness.
Then a read about it a little more. The Tao Te Ching is a little confusing because there are multiple different English translations of it, and different interpretations of those translations, so it gets a little complicated. After reading a ton though, this is how I’ve come to understand the Taoist philosophy.
Wu Wei (my interpretation)
Wu wei is a combination of two things, effortless action, and aligning oneself with the flow of nature.
Flow (the modern term for effortless action)
Turns out there’s a state known as flow, which is what I think Laozi was referring to when he said effortless action. Remember that time you were reading a book and became so absorbed into the story that you lost track of time. Or when you were playing your favorite song on the guitar and you felt every cell in your body dance to the rhythm. I usually get into the flow state when I’m coding or solving math problems. I lose track of everything and become completely immersed in the numbers or logic.
When you’re in the flow state you don’t have to exert willpower (that precious resource we all wish we had more of) to do something, things just happen. You’re completely immersed in an activity to the point where you forget about the assignment that’s due next week or the presentation you have to prepare for. You don’t feel hungry, tired, or hot/cold. Artists describe their hands just moving by themselves, effortlessly creating masterpieces.
The flow state leads to a crazy increase in productivity. The laser focused attention to one task means quicker and higher quality work. Productivity’s great, but the state’s also linked to an increase in general wellbeing and happiness.
Ok, I know what you’re thinking, how the heck do I get into this state!?
Entering Flow
- Get rid of all internal and external distractions (that means your phone, but also wondering about whether the Raptors are going to win)
- Engage in an activity you enjoy and you’re good at
- Have a degree of challenge. Not too much, not too little
- Have a clear outcome/goal
Voila!
Aligning oneself with nature
This is the second part of wu wei.
Laozi describes life as humans swimming in a river. We often try to stay in one place by holding on to rocks or even swim backwards, but you’ll get farther by just going with the flow of the current. It’s about going with the ‘natural’ course of things.
Personally, I don’t completely agree with this philosophy. If my basement’s flooding, I think it makes sense to go against nature and not let the water ruin the place. It makes sense to turn on the heat in the winter.
I know these are extreme examples, but they illustrate that there’s a balance between taking control of your life, and letting nature take its course while having patience and believing the future will be good. There are many situations when it makes sense to just relax and let things happen.
It doesn’t make sense to get frustrated in traffic and try to drive a little faster because you’ll only save maybe a couple of seconds. Or worrying how you did on a test you’ve already taken, because you don’t have control over the outcome anymore.
I think Laozi’s philosophy made more sense during his time, however not as much today, because we have much more control over our environment now than ever before. Ancient farmers couldn’t control the rain, so it didn’t make sense to worry about those things or try to stop them. Instead, it was more beneficial to go with the flow once those things happened. However, today we can water the plants more or import food from other places if the harvest isn’t adequate. So I think it makes sense to use the control we do have to make things better.
Takeaways
- Try to enter the flow state as often as possible. It’s insane how productive and happy you can be when you’re in it.
- Understand what you do, and don’t have control over. Use the control you have to make the best choices, and don’t worry about the things you don’t have control over.
