TAOISM | Be Like Water

Many people are hijacked by the rigidity of their minds. Thinking in categories and fixed ideas can be a great crutch for survival, as it creates clarity in a chaotic universe. But thinking too rigidly also has its negative consequences. Seeing the world in categories and separate boxes limits our perception, so we become stuck in our ideas of how things are, or supposed to be.

As the universe is ever-changing, and most things, if not everything, is more complex than our minds can comprehend, a more fruitful approach to life, would be one that is flexible, tangible, that enables us to flow along. You know... a bit like water.

The ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu (Taoism) 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, and softness, or more specifically, the ability and willingness to yield, can actually be a great strength, according to Taoist philosophy.

Hence, Lao Tzu states that the supreme good is like water. This video explores the benefits of being a bit less rigid and a bit more like water.

"Be like water" - Bruce Lee

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[ReynaSingh]

Taoism teaches us that life is series of spontaneous changes. If we’re willing to accept the natural flow of life; we will find perfect stillness. Stay blessed everyone!

[andriyshapovalov]

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”
C. Darvin

[VerenaSatriani]

Flow like water: when we don't try to control everything, that's the time when we trust that everything is in control.

[nehainthebay]

My grandma used to say, “be like the palm tree that bends to wind rather than the large, rigid tree that gets uprooted.”. Your video reminded me of this again. Thanks for sharing.

[lookupthereupinthetrees]

I knew a soldier many years ago, who was arguably the toughest man I've ever known. Elite special forces. He often spoke of his former colleagues and the battles or actions they fought in. What surprised me at a point was that he told me that none of the other men were left alive because they had ALL committed suicide. All of them. They couldn't accept or handle the memory of the actions they had been involved with, and being genuine, tough, masculine individuals they often went to the grave without telling anyone what their problem was. One of these men had his wife pass him he's newborn son and he cried hysterically but never told his wife or anybody what memory the child had triggered. He then deliberately went and got himself killed. What I learned from this man, the softness of his eyes contrasted with the hands in front of him, -the very bare hands that he'd used to kill people, sort of confirms what I've known for some time, and what this video points out. The other men wouldn't yield, or confess, or disclose or seek counseling for their problems. They had it would seem an unyielding view of what a man should be. I think a lot of us do. They seemed to have an inflexible view or handling of their problems. They favored things like self-medicating with alcohol instead of getting genuine help. The only reason I ever heard the stories of these people was because out of a community of incredibly tough people who died by their own hands, there was one man among them who sought help at every turn and that's what saved him. Even in the time I knew him he checked into a psychiatric hospital several times. He let other people help him, and he didn't see obtaining help or even sharing his pain with people like myself as a weakness. We tend to cringe at the idea of man 'complaining' about their problems as somehow unmasculine as 'weakness.' This idea, will get and continue to get people killed. It's not complaining, it's learning how to survive, and that's the proof I've seen with my own eyes.

[ICEcoldJT]

Two things we all need to do:
1. Be in the moment, in the presence
2. Change your perception of reality.

[MrPersianpoetry]

"Fixation is the way to death. Fluidity is the way to life."
Miyamoto Musashi

[pietrusso]

I love the crossovers between philosophies like Taoism, Buddhism, and Stoicism.

[QuestionEverythingButWHY]

“The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche

[nata_d_cc]

I am a Taoist.. only my elder sister who are resilient like water most of the times. No matter how bad the situation or unfairness, nothing shakes her. Not even loneliness. I admire & respect her...❤️

[QuestionEverythingButWHY]

“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.”
― Isaac Asimov

[MrWaterbugdesign]

This concept helped me get past road rage. Someone on the radio said be the river and go around rocks in the stream. Slow drivers were the rocks. Don't get mad at rocks. This thinking evolved to where I switched from being water to being a rock in the stream...a safer driver.

[QuestionEverythingButWHY]

“If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room.”
--Confucius

[akshataraj]

I am going through a breakup and disheartened situation. This channel has helped me think beyond the worldly problems. I feel better 😊 I hope I find peace within.

[Joonlai]

Don’t attach to anything,
Nothing is permanence,
Everything will change sooner or later.
-Buddha

[jonathanwhitfield]

I feel I found these videos on Taoism and Buddhism at the exact moment I needed them; everything I have heard so far is applicable to my own life and the painful situations I am currently going through. Every word was profound and enlightening, every quote struck a chord and resonated deeply within me. now my load seems much easier to carry. An unnecessary weight was removed from my shoulders, as well as my heart. now I can breathe again.
after watching several of these in a row, I suddenly feel a stillness within myself; I am serene, at peace.
I have realized that I am ultimately the only person who can hurt myself, and that I have been hurting myself this entire time. I am glad I am still alive, still trying. I don't have to suffer just because I feel pain right now, and happiness is not unobtainable. thank you, to whom or whatever led me to finding this. and thank you, Einzelganger, for making these videos.

[mhniroomand]

"Everybody is quoting Someone here "
__Me

[caitlinannegrey]

Reminds me of my poem I wrote a couple months back:

The mutability of my perception
The trickle of curiosity I provoke
I have the power to erode
I have the power to take form
I could be an oasis, or I could be a storm
The element of water, through which my creativity cascades
I am the reflection of the heavens and my own Creator
I am as wavering as the ocean
I am also as still as the seine
I am frozen like ice
I am also boiling at times
And at others, I am vaporized
But I am still water
Not always still water.
Sometimes I’m a wild rapid.
Sometimes I’m harder, and sometimes I’m softer.
I am water.

[andrescarnederes]

It reminds me of how certain religious people view God. They view him as this rigid being who doesn't understand the complexity of life and sees everything as black and white, when in fact life is complex and God is probably even more complex. We should (in my opinion) chill and enjoy this ride of life and learn to appreciate others and empathize with them instead of being so judgemental all the time. It sounds cheesy as hell I know, but I seriously think this was the mission of Christ on the earth. Not establishing a rigid religion that determines whether you go to heaven or hell, I think.

[kurp]

“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless – like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”
- Bruce Lee