Captain Michael: There is a difference between moving forward and forcing your way forward.
I am not sure I understood that when I was y
There is a difference between moving forward and forcing your way forward.
I am not sure I understood that when I was younger.
If something stood in the way, the answer seemed obvious:
Push harder.
Work longer.
Apply more pressure.
And sometimes that worked.
But water knows another way.
Put a stone in a stream and the water does not spend the evening trying to convince the stone to move.
It goes around.
If it cannot go around, it rises.
If it cannot rise, it waits.
And all the while, it remains water.
That may be one of the harder lessons in Taoism.
Yielding does not mean surrender.
Acceptance does not mean defeat.
And changing course does not necessarily mean abandoning the destination.
Sometimes the strongest thing we can do is stop demanding that the journey happen the way we imagined it would.
A sailor learns much the same lesson.
You can hold your course and fight the sea all night.
Or you can ease the sheet a little, alter course a few degrees, and discover the boat was trying to tell you something.
Perhaps wisdom works that way, too.
Not every obstacle needs to be conquered.
Some simply need to be sailed around.
#Taoism, #LaoTzu, #TheWatercourseWay, #WuWei, #Philosophy, #SailingLife, #LifeAfloat, #LiveaboardLife, #Wisdom, #TheWay, #CaptainMichael
Captain Michael: There is a difference between moving forward and forcing your way forward. I am not sure I understood that when I was yo
There is a difference between moving forward and forcing your way forward. I am not sure I understood that when I was younger. If something stood in the way, the answer seemed obvious: Push harder. Work longer. Apply more pressure. And sometimes that worked. But water knows another way. Put a stone in a stream and the water does not spend the evening trying to convince the stone to move. It goes around. If it cannot go around, it rises. If it cannot rise, it waits. And all the while, it remains water. That may be one of the harder lessons in Taoism. Yielding does not mean surrender. Acceptance does not mean defeat. And changing course does not necessarily mean abandoning the destination. Sometimes the strongest thing we can do is stop demanding that the journey happen the way we imagined it would. A sailor learns much the same lesson. You can hold your course and fight the sea all night. Or you can ease the sheet a little, alter course a few degrees, and discover the boat was trying to tell you something. Perhaps wisdom works that way, too. Not every obstacle needs to be conquered. Some simply need to be sailed around. #Taoism, #LaoTzu, #TheWatercourseWay, #WuWei, #Philosophy, #SailingLife, #LifeAfloat, #LiveaboardLife, #Wisdom, #TheWay, #CaptainMichael
There is a difference between moving forward and forcing your way forward. I am not sure I understood that when I was younger. If something stood in the way, the answer seemed obvious: Push harder. Work longer. Apply more pressure. And sometimes that worked. But water knows another way. Put a stone in a stream and the water does not spend the evening trying to convince the stone to move. It goes around. If it cannot go around, it rises. If it cannot rise, it waits. And all the while, it remains water. That may be one of the harder lessons in Taoism. Yielding does not mean surrender. Acceptance does not mean defeat. And changing course does not necessarily mean abandoning the destination. Sometimes the strongest thing we can do is stop demanding that the journey happen the way we imagined it would. A sailor learns much the same lesson. You can hold your course and fight the sea all night. Or you can ease the sheet a little, alter course a few degrees, and discover the boat was trying to tell you something. Perhaps wisdom works that way, too. Not every obstacle needs to be conquered. Some simply need to be sailed around. #Taoism, #LaoTzu, #TheWatercourseWay, #WuWei, #Philosophy, #SailingLife, #LifeAfloat, #LiveaboardLife, #Wisdom, #TheWay, #CaptainMichael
