The bike path on the way to Cheney follows a narrow stream that looked great for a waystation. The seeds I planted still had their white feathery fluff attached. As I put them in the ground, some started to take off when the wind picked up. It was a lovely scene. The wind said “let’s spread these seeds out a bit more!”
Both the milkweed and the monarch have evolved with the wind. By the nature of their being — the milkweed’s fluff and the monarch’s wings — they harness the power of the wind effortlessly. In Taoism, this is what’s called wu wei. It’s often translated as ‘non-action’ or ‘not forcing.’ Wu wei is a kind of intelligence — of knowing the principles and structures of natural forces and relations so well that one uses the least amount of energy when engaging with them. Monarchs and milkweed have been developing this intelligence for 2 million years. They’ve got a lot to teach us.
