🌊Be Water, My Friend 🌊

I’m currently reading the book “Be Water, My Friend - The Teachings of Bruce Lee” By Shannon Lee. The book is written by his daughter who certainly in her own right had to define and redefine herself separate from this all-engulfing figure that is her father.

She takes his philosophical teachings and writings, exploring them in a more explicit, digestible way and talks through her own interpretation of his thinking.

For the few people who haven’t heard the “Be Water, My Friend” quote, here it is.

From a martial arts standpoint, the notion is to be flexible, to adapt, to take what is given by an opponent and to adjust. To have the capacity for pliability and malleability but also destructive, brute and unstoppable force.

The concept can further expand to a life philosophy. To adapt and adjust to the world around you, to be open and flexible and welcoming to all but also steadfast. A certain sense of calm, stoic self-understanding that is both powerful and stable, yet adaptable and self-assured in resilience.

I am thoroughly enjoying the philosophical writings and allowing my mind to wander but just felt the desire to jot down some thoughts of some meaningful quotes. I’m not yet done the book but plan on reading it a few times.

“Water may flow swiftly or it may flow slowly, but its purpose is inexorable, its destiny sure.”

There’s a certain sense of intention or purpose. Of destiny and unbending law to water’s movement. It flows from higher altitude to lower altitude. It follows the law of gravity. It participates in cyclic patterns of evaporation and condensation. There’s a defined, innate purpose to it that is not questioned, is not doubted, is simply fact.

There isn’t an expiration date, a time limit, a question of arriving to a destination early, on time or late. There is no self-doubt, self-question. Simply, existence as water. And it’s powerful to recognize, especially since the metacognitive function of people causes so much self-doubt, lapse in identity, existential crisis.

I think for myself, I can get so caught up in what others think. In whether I am doing a good job. Whether I have things I should do better. As a son. As a husband. As a professional. As a friend. As <insert another categorical label>. I constantly think about these things and aspiring to simply exist and do what I can do without questioning those aspects or insecurities is a refreshing and valuable perspective.

“When man is living, he is soft and pliable; when he is dead, he becomes rigid. Pliability is life; rigidity is death, whether we are speaking of the body, the mind, or the spirit. Be pliable.”

I know that I can be quite rigid and stubborn in my ways. In my thinking, in what I want to do, in deadlines I set for myself. Because I try to be so logical in how I act, I feel like if I understand a certain logic to things, it is hard to convince me otherwise or it is hard to stray from that logic, because there’s a clear thinking process to my actions. But, it’s important to remember that flexibility makes me human and it is an innate feature of existing that I shouldn’t take for granted. Recognizing that my subjective interpretation of a certain logic is fallible, that I can readjust, tweak, modify, or embrace the changes that come up in life. I am able to change the flow of things, change myself, change how I think, change what I think because I am alive and I should appreciate, enjoy and lean into that flexibility.

We’ve all heard the idea of the unbending tree that breaks and the flexible or swaying bamboo or new growth that does not resist and therefore does not snap.

Well, we as people are similar. Being flexible to the times, to technological changes, to changes in mindset, to changes in sociocultural standing. Flexibility in thinking, in openness to opportunity, to changes in our physical world, and to changes in our mental and spiritual states. These are all legitimate reasons to change and to be stubborn, headstrong, and at times blind to those logical processes that can impact my reality is foolish akin to the inflexible tree.

Being able to adjust, adapt, reflect, and embrace this change is important to thriving as a human and it is something that we can only do when we are alive. So why not use the features, these properties that I have while I can still use them.

“From now on, drop all your burden of preconceived conclusions behind, and “open” yourself to everything and everyone ahead. Remember, my friend, the usefulness of the cup is in its emptiness.

This almost feels like a random shower thought.

Like…OMG, a cup is useful as a cup because it can hold things! So it’s only useful when it’s empty!

But it is true that a cup’s value is in its openness, its emptiness and in its ability to accept what is given.

There’s value to the lack of fullness.

And I think in general, we have an under-appreciation for and disregard for things that do not present their value overtly. It is much more difficult to see value as the absence of something because we are trained to see the inherent value in things whereas the inherent value of a cup is in its relations and interactions with others.

There’s a value to having the time and space to accept something, to a sponge, to take in and hold the properties of stuff around you.

And maybe that’s something worth exploring and valuing more. Maybe we need to recalibrate our valuation of people, objects, and ways of living that are able to not inherently provide value themselves but provide value via their relationships with things.

In the rat race that is productivity and time blocking, there can be value in leaving space empty, in keeping oneself open and embracing to the distractions, the chaos, the unplanned, and the unexpected. There can be value in social time, in networking, in events that may not necessarily straightforwardly contribute to your craft.

At least that’s how I interpret it.

I don’t exactly have a final thought on the book or on Bruce Lee’s teachings at this point. I’m still in the middle of my first read-through but I think its a challenging yet fruitful exercise to read this way. To analyze. To challenge. To think it through over and over. To try to get those little gems that leave a lasting impression on me.

Hope it was fruitful for you too!