Wu Wei, Paradox, and Creating a Zen-like Environment that Honors Space and Solitude

 [Wu Wei= non-interference with nature, with "what is"]...but it means , not taking the line of least resistance but finding out the grain of the situation and going with it.  And this whole philosophy of nature, as man as an integral part of nature, not seperated from it and dominating it, but in it and moving with it, his intelligence representing the same force that moves in mountains, and stars, and plants and trees, is to build works of art that are at the same time works of nature, rather than works of artificiality.

Alan Watts

Am I moving with nature or am I still trying to stand out against nature?

It isn't that I am trying to create a "work of art" in this little environment but I am trying to work with nature and my own need for space and solitude. In this tiny cramped place it is challenging not to give into the western need for distracting clutter. Though I have purged about 80 percent of "my stuff" to fit into this space...the 20 percent I bring with me does not make this home look like a "zen" home...let me tell ya.  That's okay...it doesn't have to be.  I am afterall a conditioned westerner...who believes at some subconscious level that as a human...my creations are meant to stand out in contrast to nature... to express "my personality".  Sigh! There is still a personality here that wants to be seen and recognized. I am working on it. There is obviously much more evolving to do.lol

...when you forget about your personality and you become interested in something else, that you become interesting to other people. So, in the same way when you learn to love solitude that, paradoxically, it may seem you're better able to get on with others...the paradox or backwards law....contrary things come from actions, unexpected things...When you would be strong, very often the best course is to be weak. When you would be powerful, the best course is often to withdraw.

I need to follow the principle of wu wei. I need to cultivate a Zen garden inside me...not outside me...one where there is emptiness and space.

...all things come out of emptiness...emptiness is created...nothing is more fertile than emptiness..

All is well!

Alan Watts/Simple Art-Inspire (December, 2025) Don't force Life- Alan WAtts of Wu Wei, Zen Gardens, and Solitude. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahW5Qr6ADKI