Miscellaneous

Best to Be Like Water – #38

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September 14, 2012

Leaves swirl to the ground vacating their summer home in the trees: Nature demonstrates the letting go process.

Letting go on the material level: Clean out a closet or drawer.

Letting go of psychological baggage: Express a feeling.

Letting go of prejudice: Interact with people who are different from you

Taoists instruct ordinary men and women to survive by crouching low and keeping out of the line of fire. Bob Klein,* the first Taoist I’ve known, responded to my request for more information on Taoism by recommending several books and the animation by Peter Beaggle, “The Last Unicorn.”

The Tao Te Ching (pronounced “Dow Duh Jing”**) was first on his list. It is an ancient Chinese text that is said to have evolved from the school known as Taoism that dates from the first to third centuries C.E., however recently two older versions were discovered that date the first century B.C.E.**

Composed in two parts and eighty-one numbered short sections, it has traditionally been attributed to a figure known as Lao-tzu. One message from this ancient text is that to be in harmony with what is, we need to know when to let go of what isn’t needed.

Here’s #8 for you to savor:

Best to be like water,
Which benefits the ten thousand things
And does not contend.
It pools where humans disdain to dwell,
Close to the Tao.

     Live in a good place.
     Keep your mind deep.
     Treat others well.
     Stand by your word.
     Keep good order.
     Do the right thing.
     Work when it’s time.

     Only do not contend,
And you will not go wrong.**

What happens when leaves fall into water? What do you need to let go of? In order for you to relax, do you need to crouch down or stand up straighter? Do you know how to stay out of the line of fire? What is the right thing for you?

The comments box is operational if somewhat elusive! You need to click on this link: www.NickyMendenhall.blogspot.com.
When you get to the blog, click on the word comments and be prepared to do some scrolling. Good luck – be sure to email me if you have any problems. It’s fun/interesting seeing what others post – don’t forget to check out comments from the last two weeks if you haven’t already.

Thanks for exploring the mystery – Nicky Mendenhall

*You can learn more about Bob Klein by visiting his website: www.movementsofmagic.com.

**Tao Te Ching, attributed to Lao-Tzu(1993) translated by Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo.

Post written by: Nicky Mendenhall

2 comments

Anonymous says:

September 17, 2012 at 8:06 pm

I like this challenge to be like water…..to be able/willing to flow freely. Closest I come to this (and you asked how I relax) is to sit on my porch-swing on the back screened-in porch and just be: observing the many kinds of birds attracted to our several bird feeders in our "little forest" in our back yard, to read and muse about things, to think and not have to come to any conclusions, to have a kittie climb into my lap and nuzzle and snuggle, to contemplate of just how fortunate to have the freedom to do all this…..and to then flow with whatever comes next.

Larry
Anonymous says:

September 18, 2012 at 10:18 pm

Nicky-this was a good message. I often think that the more inflexible we are, the more we separate ourselves from new opportunities. I wonder if openness is not related directly to our self-esteem. If we feel good about ourselves, we have nothing to fear from the new ideas of others and we thus see them as growth opportunities. It is getting there that is the tough part of the job. The paradox is that we can get there until we let go, and the more insecure we are, the more difficult it is to let go. It has been said that we only change when the pain of change is less than the pain of staying where we are.

Carl