Be Like Water: A Lesson From Master Bruce Lee
“Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and 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.”
These thought provoking words were spoken by one of the most recognized and celebrated Martial Arts master and philosopher: Bruce Lee.
For over 80 years, Lee’s wisdom and way of life has inspired admirers and students to live a life of honest self expression and self cultivation. And with these legendary words, ‘be water, my friend’ he echoed a symbolic and sacred Taoist teaching that honours water, as the source of inner peace.
Water is the most essential element around us.
Our human bodies, our planet Earth, and all living things around us, are all primarily made up of water. From ancient scriptures to religious rituals, water plays a vital role in the symbolic purification of the mind, body, and spirit. And as one of the four elements of nature, water represents cleansing, life, and freedom. Where water flows, there is hope. Where water flows, there is life.
But beyond the power of creating and sustaining life, the metaphysical tendencies of water, can help us cultivate a deeper sense of self, mental clarity and inner peace.
Water is ever-flowing; whether graciously through streams or violently through rapids, it cascades from rivers and lakes, through mountains and plaines, guided by a sacred flow that remembers its way. All enveloping, and never resisting its natural order, water treats every surface equally, always flowing down to the lowest point in its vicinity and nurturing all living things on its way.
In order to ‘be like water’ we need to surrender to the natural flow of things without interfering or influencing their essence. The strongest and most malleable manifestation is that which lets itself be guided and does not seek to overpower. To live without ego. Water does not overreact nor under react; it merely responds adequately to its surroundings. By doing this it does not waste energy and it is able to behave appropriately in certain situations. In times of hardship and troubles, we must strive to be like water.
Water also has a heavenly sense of timing that manifests differently according to its surrounding and circumstance. Summer rain never falls in winter, and winter snow never falls in summer. When nature is in balance, water demonstrates that there is a time for everything, and everything can occur in its own time. When we emulate this, we become mindfully aware to take the appropriate action at just the right time.
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