After taking the past week off, I sat down to write this morning. I sipped my coffee, collected my thoughts, and tried to locate and pick up the threads that I had last been teasing in the busy days leading up to the holidays.
I re-read what I had written about coping strategies and dealing with times when life feels out of control. I then reworked a few paragraphs about connective tissue and the nervous system, describing how working with the nervous system rather than against it is a much more effective and sustainable way of working towards healing, in both mind and body. After wrestling with words and concepts for an hour or so, and leaving a few breadcrumbs for myself so I’d know where to pick up tomorrow, I hit save and got on with the day.
When I did finally get to emails and notifications, I saw that a book club friend had shared a video that had been especially meaningful to her. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I let these things languish in my inbox, then, after a respectable amount of time, I set them free and allow them to drift away, unopened and eventually forgotten. But this morning, as thoughts around my book were still echoing in my mind, I hit play. I’m still trying to decide whether what I experienced was synchronicity or serendipity, and I suppose it doesn’t really matter. A rose by any other name, etc., etc.
The video is about the concept of “Wu Wei”, or not forcing, and is one of many that have been created to complement the lectures of Alan Watts, a writer and speaker who interpreted and popularized eastern philosophy for a western audience. Wu Wei is described here not as a passive “going with the flow”, but as knowing when to act and when to rest. This wisdom is gained from putting aside what we think we know and experiencing the world with child-like wonder and curiosity, by asking the big questions without needing the answers to be presented in a tidy package. If you know me, you’ll know these concepts resonate deeply with me!
I’m not one for new year’s resolutions, but I do like the collective energy I feel around the flipping of a calendar page. After many years of thinking I wasn’t enough, I finally don’t feel the need to change who I am, but I do want to learn to see myself with greater clarity, compassion and delight. The ten minutes I spent this morning watching the video, and the time it has spent with me through the following hours of the day, along with the energy of the new year, have further extended the invitation for me to come into myself a little more, to investigate who I am and be open and enthusiastic about what shows up in the process.
Does it feel scary or liberating to consider discovering more about yourself? If you have an extra ten minutes floating around, I invite you to watch and listen to this take on the art of not forcing.
What resonates with you? What seems nonsensical to you? What do you feel yourself pushing back against? What is one way you can practice this concept of “not forcing” this week?
