The Art of Wu Wei

Embrace acceptance and effortless action for greater resilience and success in life’s toughest moments

Issue #15:

Good day and welcome back to The Zen Journal. Today’s reflection centers on the theme of surrender. Life is full of apparent contradictions and paradoxes, and the first step on the path of Dharma often involves surrendering our will to do the next right thing in a world beyond our control.

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There’s an important distinction between surrendering and submitting.

Submission is like pretending to play along in a game you don't care about, just long enough to figure out how to flip the rules in your favor later. It’s a way of appeasing others, without any real intention of changing ourselves.

Surrender, however, is different. It’s an internal knowing that we are truly done with the defilements, the behaviors, and the attitudes that have gotten us to this point.

It’s about accepting the world as it is. It’s like saying, "This is the world I live in, and I accept it." It’s about letting go of the need to control everything around us.

If we think we can change others; our partner, our children, our community, or even our country, we better be prepared for a long, difficult journey.

Changing our attitude, though? That’s something we can do right now, in this very moment.

Sometimes, instead of rushing to do something, the most powerful action we can take is to surrender fully.

The Taoist principle of wu wei teaches us about effortless action. It’s all about taking a deep breath, letting go, and allowing things to unfold naturally.

It may sound paradoxical, but it works.

An example of surrender comes from a far different place and time. In December of 1950, Chesty Puller, commanding his regiment at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in Korea, faced overwhelming odds.

Surrounded by Chinese troops, he gathered his officers and said, “We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him[them]. We're surrounded. That simplifies things.”

This wasn’t surrender in the sense of giving up; it was an acceptance of reality. The situation was what it was.

Puller’s acceptance of the harsh truth was a turning point for him and his men, and it serves as a reminder for all of us.

Life often presents us with unfair, overwhelming challenges; things we feel powerless to change. But like Chesty Puller, we must accept the present as it is, not as we wish it would be.

So, you might be wondering what happened after.

Despite being vastly outnumbered, Chesty Puller embodied the principle of wu wei.

Rather than resisting or panicking, he accepted the reality of being surrounded and took action accordingly.

His leadership allowed his men to flow with the situation, adapt, and fight strategically. Through resilience, trust in their abilities, and a calm approach, they managed to break through the enemy’s encirclement and come out on top.

What does this mean for you?

You have to learn to effortlessly align with the natural flow of the universe, achieving harmony and effectiveness without forceful action.

For example, at the workplace, this might mean accepting the current dynamics of your team or the challenges you're facing with a project.

Instead of trying to force things to go your way, you acknowledge the situation as it is, perhaps a tight deadline or a difficult colleague, and adapt your approach accordingly.

By surrendering to the reality of the moment, you create space for solutions to emerge naturally, without wasting energy on resistance.

The sooner we make peace with this truth, the better we’ll be at handling whatever life throws our way.

I look forward to continuing this journey with you. Please feel free to share your thoughts, reflections, or questions as I dive deeper into these teachings.

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