Wu wei

There’s an old Daoist story about an old frail man who fell into a raging waterfall. The current was violent, crashing down with force. Onlookers were sure he wouldn’t survive.

But moments later, he emerged downstream, unharmed, brushed himself off and carried on his way.

Astonished, they asked 'How did you survive that?'

He smiled and said, 'I didn’t fight it. When the water pushed me down, I went down. When it lifted me up, I rose with it. I let the river show me the way instead of wasting my energy struggling against it.'

This is Wu Wei - the Daoist wisdom of moving with life instead of against it.

But Wu Wei isn’t passive. It’s not about surrendering to hardship and doing nothing. The old man didn’t just give up - he worked with the water, moving in a way that let him survive.

In life, it’s the same. We don’t ignore challenges.. we just stop fighting them in ways that drain us. We respond with clarity instead of panic. We make choices that align with the flow rather than force things that aren’t working.

Less struggle, more skill. The river knows the way.. but we still have to swim.