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Marco Polo is credited with bringing won tons back to Europe from his travels in the East. Although the Chinese stuff their version with pork and scallions, Italians with veal and cheese, and Poles with potatoes and mushrooms, all agree it's great food! Each nationality enhanced its cuisine by recognizing a good idea and adapting it to its culture. We can spice up our spiritual paths, too, by being receptive to the teachings of other philosophies and religions. "You must fully receive the [speaker's] message before you evaluate or criticize it," writes Barbara L. Marrs, author of Learning and Using Study Skills: A Teenager's Guide for Academic Success. Put aside your personal beliefs and prejudices. You will miss the message if your mind automatically clicks into "disagreement mode," she explains. Take the idea of wu wei. Being a positive, no-nonsense type of individual, I've always had a hard time understanding those "no, non, nothingness" concepts. Yet, didn't I just describe myself as a "no" nonsense person? Wu wei is a Taoist teaching meaning that one should "let nature take its course and take no action contrary to nature." It does not mean to do nothing, but once we've done all we can reasonably do, it's time to let our higher selves take over. My Christian friends frequently "Let go and let God" when they are confronted with difficulties. Through prayer and meditation, they recognize the need to turn their problems over to a higher power. Isn't that another way of expressing wu wei? In my hatha yoga class, we learn "to reach our limit and expand upon it a bit." Progress is made by relaxing and releasing into a posture rather than forcing one's body to do it. That sounds like wu wei, too. We must be careful about passing judgment on other people’s beliefs. Their values deserve at least as much consideration as their recipes. We need to look for ideas and ideals we hold in common. Then we can accept insignificant differences like we do variations in recipes. After all, variety in life, as in food, is the "spice." |