The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu celebrates flexibility in his timeless work named the Tao Te Ching, in which he opposes the rigid life stance that some people choose to take.
- In contrast to what many think, weakness, or more specifically, the ability and willingness to yield, can actually be a great strength, according to Taoist philosophy
The ways of nature are all-encompassing.
- One thing that characterizes Taoist philosophy is deference towards nature.
- The dance between opposites is the fundamental principle of how the universe works, which manifests as ongoing change.
When we observe nature closely and through a Taoist lens, we can see two forces at work: yin and yang, or the feminine and the masculine.
- Yang consists of the more active elements of existence, like speed, restlessness, productivity, excitement, aggressiveness, being outgoing, but also hardness, dryness, and stiffness.
- Yin consists of the more passive elements, like silence, receptiveness, not reacting as opposed to reacting, and also softness, and flexibility.
Our culture celebrates the yang aspects of life.
- It’s all about faster, bigger, more, better, standing your ground, defending your unchanging opinions, confronting and clashing with the enemy, altering rather than adapting.
Yin aspects, on the other hand, are looked down upon.
- For example: being receptive to opposing opinions, and being willing to change your views is often seen as weak.
- “If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything,” former American politician Alexander Hamilton famously quoted.
- This may be true, but if we’re not willing to maintain certain flexibility, never change our viewpoints on anything, never change our approach, and are never willing to bend with the winds of life, we become as rigid as a dead branch.
In the yang-society we live in, we only seem to value one part of human existence, which is the active part that revolves around achievement, speed, and success.
- We get educated, take on a lot of responsibility in regards to work and family, try to get rich and do it as quickly as possible, and judge each other as ‘human doings’, rather than human beings.
Re-source: Reconsider
consider (something) again, especially for a possible change of decision regarding it
Being useless, or stupid, or ugly, or poor, is generally considered undesirable. But if we master the flexibility of finding the positive in the negative, we’ll realize that these undesired characteristics have positive aspects to them.
- It’s just a matter of perception.
- being poor means less money and possessions to worry about
- being ugly means that we’re less likely to end up in a string of abusive relationships, and that people like us for our personality instead of looks.
In the Taoist work Zhuangzi, there’s a story about a crooked tree, which was so deformed compared to the straight trees, that lumberjacks labeled it useless, as it was unable to turn into usable wooden planks.
- Then, Zhuangzi came along, and stated that the tree is actually very suitable as a place to relax.
- Because the tree was seen as useless by the lumberjacks, it never got chopped down, so it became old and big, and people eventually turned it into a holy site.
- So, the longevity of the tree was due to its uselessness.
Being useless may not lead to a good reputation, and will probably evoke shaming and blaming by our environment.
- But it also leads to less burdens, less pressure, and probably a much more relaxed life.
- Every cloud has a silver lining.
craving and resource from “Be Like Water” by Einzelgänger