Do you understand the art of doing nothing, like Pooh does? Or are you more like rabbit?
“Rabbit’s clever,” said Pooh thoughtfully.
“Yes,” said Piglet, “Rabbit’s clever.”
“And he has Brain.”
“Yes,” said Piglet, “Rabbit has Brain.”
There was a long silence.
“I suppose,” said Pooh, “that that’s why he never understands anything.”
A. A. Milne
Wu Wei, which means to do without doing or to act without acting, is a powerful idea from the Tao Te Ching. Winnie the Pooh is a master of Wu Wei, as Benjamin Hoff points out in one of my favorite books, The Tao of Pooh. Pooh is a master of the Tao and Wu Wei because he simply lets things and people be what they are. He doesn’t spend a lot of time trying to figure things out or make something happen. Pooh is much more likely to simply be present to what is, in the moment, and thereby is able to respond from a completely open and present state.
To practice Wu Wei, be like Pooh, which means that any effort you put into something is actually effortless because there is no sense of making something happen, no struggle or emotional hook. You simply are present to what is called for from you in the moment. Then you can enjoy your life with simplicity and experience the abundance that is ever-present.
Spiritual Contemplation: When are you like Rabbit, clever at trying to figure things out? How would being more like Pooh help your life?
Affirmation: I am simply present to what is. I respond in the moment, without trying to make anything happen. I simply trust that it does. I practice the art of doing nothing, and accomplish much!
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