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Tattoo by Khalil Rivera of Off the Map Tattoo
As a commenter to an earlier post pointed out, the principle of wei wu wui, or action through inaction, bears significant similarity to theologian Reinhold Niebuhr's serenity prayer, particularly the first four lines:
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
I had included this comparison in the orginal post at one point, but since it was deleted somewhere in the editing process (much to my surprise and shame), I thought I'd take this chance to explore it a bit. I think the similarities and differences between the two ideas can best be illustrated by thinking of the different ways that things can be out of our control or resistant to direct change.
First, there are some things, such as the weather, the movement of the stars, or the neverending onslaught of Katherine Heigl movies ("look, she still can't find love—let's see what her problem is this time"), that just happen without any input from us. Political and social trends, on which most of us will have marginal influence at the most, are not in our direct control either. Most of us realize that we can't change these things, and Niebuhr counsels serenity in such situations: you can't do anything to change them, so don't try, and by all means, don't worry about them.
Before we go on, let me note that the ancient Stoic philosopher Epictetus said much the same thing, recommending acceptance of things you cannot change as a way to calmness of mind—serenity—and then focusing on making virtuous choices within those limits. (And the wisdom that Niebuhr asks for, in order to know what things can be changed and which can't, calls to mind Aristotle's practical wisdom.)
Hey, what are you guys doing here? That's weird...
But another category includes things that seem like they should be under our control when they're actually not, which causes internal conflict when we try to change them. This category includes the things I have written about before, such as happiness and love, crucially important things to most of us but things which are nonetheless very difficult to influence directly. As I understand it, wei wu wei speaks mainly to these things, which we fool ourselves into thinking we can change through action, when nonaction will work much better. While it is easy to accept that you can't change the weather or Hollywood's casting choices, we do like to think we can try to find love or be happy, but wei wu wei helps us remember that misdirected effort in these areas is counterproductive.
So, while Niebuhr's serenity prayer and Epictetus remind us not to fret about the things we can't change, wei wu wei reminds us that there are even more things that we shouldn't try to change or affect—just let them happen, and be ready for them when they do.
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