This is but one of the great Bruce Lee's most famous quotes. He was on a talk show explaining his philosophy and Taoism.
I wonder if people misinterpret this quote.
I think the meaning behind this quote is simple. Be where you are as you are. We spend so much energy wanting things to be a certain way, to go a certain way. When things aren't as we hoped, we try to bend reality to the way we planned in our heads. We attempt to control all aspects of our surroundings and every conceivable possible outcome.
For anything that has a chance to happen tomorrow, there are 100 ways it could transpire. Each of these 100 ways could then produce 50 different outcomes. We then try to plan for each of these 5,000 elements, creating contingency after contingency. We stress about what could happen, how it could happen, what we will do if it does or doesn't happen the way we think it might.
I tell my clients at Tri State Holistic Wellness that we cannot possibly prepare for all this nonsense. If we plan for each contingency, and some of those events do not transpire, we exhaust ourselves. We create undue stress. I've told many a client that the gap between what we wanted or expected and what really happened is where anxiety resides. We try to change the circumstances to meet what we had assumed, we create a situation that we respond to with a fight or flight reaction. This is harmful.
I think what Bruce Lee was telling us is that we should allow ourselves to be where we are. To accept each situation as it is. If is a sad situation, we are allowed to cry, if it a joyful event, we should cheer. Even the Dalai Lama said that he gets sad and angry, but he feels these things and then lets go of it. He doesn't hold on to the experience.
In the same way, when we are in a teapot, we should not try to remain a bottle. We also should not try to change the teapot into a bottle. We should accept what is.
Bruce Lee also said that water can flow or it can crash. I think this means that we should be at ease as circumstances change. But this should never mean that we should refuse to take action. Sometimes we need to act, and act without hesitation. Even when a dam breaks, the water spills and then settles. We should allow ourselves to take appropriate action and then go back to flowing again. We should then return to accepting our container, the situation as it is. We should strive to maintain our peace by being at peace with what is.
Hello, my beautiful friends,
This week in Tai Chi, we will continue to work on our different forms, Shui Lung and Tai Chi Gung.
Each time we practice our forms we should strive to be as calm and as smooth as we can. Our postures should flow peacefully from one to another so we can enjoy each inch of the movement along the way.
I would love to see you with us in class. Let's have some fun.
Classes are as follows.
All classes are pay as you go. No contracts or commitments.
Jasper
Tuesday 6:30pm
Dubois County Museum
2704 Newton
Classes are $12.
Evansville
Wednesday 6:30pm
Tri State Holistic Wellness
500 Saint Phillips Rd 47712
Classes are $10 cash
Saturday 11:00 am
Unity of Evansville
4118 Pollack Ave 47714
Classes are $10 cash
I'm available by appointment throughout the week in Evansville for
Reiki / Acupressure
Herbalism / Nutrition
sessions. $60 cash
Message me by text, email, or Facebook Messenger to schedule an appointment.
In the Tao,
Sifu Weeg