As a whole, humanity does too much.
Too much love, too much hate.
Too much fun, too much pain.
Too much work, too much rest.
Too much life, too much death.
The list goes on.
I’ve read dozens of commentaries of wu wei, and from what I can tell you, trying to talk about it in terms of “not doing” strikes many people as awkward and flimsy.
The major problem with the idea is that it is considered as a negative. One commentator on Daoist philosophy, however, has mentioned that the affirmative version wu wei is zi ran (naturalness and spontaneity), which makes it much easier to explain. Daoists observed their surroundings as cohesive and symbiotic. Some went into an alchemical path under the pretenses of attaining immortality upon totally balancing their bodies with the other elemental forces of the universe (Most drank lead and mercury cocktails and died.). Others took it as an ethical stance and worked from there.
The ethical stance works as a form of mimickry to the symbiotic quality to nature. Instead of imposing our way, it is more practical to adapt to our present environment and act in such a way that refuses to make a bold announcement of our agency, but still achieves the consequences we seek as an agent.
As a practicing Daoist and intellectual, this ethic is the hardest to actualize, primarily because (as Daoists have pointed out) intellectualism impedes one from just letting things slide. Cleverness is dangerous as intellect and critical reasoning prompts us to analyze and criticize the world around us, emboldening our agency as analysts and ethicists. The ideal of Daoism is to do the analysis introspectively, skillfully, and rarely, then to live one’s life according to what feels most natural.
This is why I said I was doing “not doing” wrong. People would see me has having laziness or a lack of motivation, when I know that’s not the definition of wu-wei. But if you can imagine, the philosophy still appeals to me on that level. Very rarely am I spontaneous or natural. My senses are too sharp, too critical. And cleverness gets me into to trouble.
But once every while, I get the essense of wisdom, and I don’t feel guilty about being in-active. It fits me.
I used to. Now I hate it like hell.