“The living are soft and yielding; the dead are rigid and stiff. Living plants are flexible and tender; the dead are brittle and dry.”
Lao Tzu
Things that are brittle and dry will break easily, and are either dead or equivalent to being dead.
- The same goes for minds that are rigid and stern.
People that are rigid and stern generally have difficulties dealing with change, as they desire permanence, rather than the uncertainty of impermanence.
- Unfortunately for these people, change is inevitable.
Life is impermanence.
- If life would be permanent, it would be lifeless.
- Thus, when we don’t accept the reality of impermanence, we waste a lot of energy fighting the inevitable.
Re-source: Restrained
characterized by reserve or moderation; unemotional or dispassionate : kept under control : subtle; not excessively showy
Change in life comes in different forms.
- We could experience small changes, like a new colleague.
- Or we could experience big changes like moving to another country, divorce, or even death.
Taoism is a philosophy about ‘not forcing’ anything.
- In practice, we can see that using force is not only exhausting, it often doesn’t get us anywhere.
Now, this doesn’t mean that we should never use force in certain situations.
- But in many cases, the soft approach is superior to using force, when it comes to long term results, as well as saving our energy, and maintaining a tranquil mind.
craving and resource from “Be Like Water” by Einzelgänger