I Flexibility

"A reed before the wind lives on, while mighty oaks do fall"
Chinese Proverb

Another lesson from nature. A simple yet complex idea, that many people and most of humanity are unable to achieve. Instead of bring like a reed and flexible, many people remain rigid like an oak and gets blown over.

So many ways to be like a reed. In business, in life, in a fight, in a relationship, in general. In business you become flexible in covering for people, or in what you do, being flexible makes you valuable, accountable, and virtuous in the business world.

Tao teaches us flexibility, in life being flexible is also rolling with the punches as it was. Not getting upset at things, letting things flow naturally. To bend when times become hard. Being flexible and realizing that in any misfortune there is a positive opportunity awaiting for those that look.

In general being flexible means not being tense, not getting upset at the small things or even the larger issues. Not allowing things to flow naturally and trying to change things you can not only leads to you falling and failing. Let things occur naturally, bend with the bad opportunities and situations while looking for a positive opportunity.

In relationships, bending on things, compromise, and working together makes the relationship stand strong through the test of time. See time is your enemy in a relationship, your own personality is an enemy, your hidden habits is your enemy. See a relationship is a great idea, however one needs to understand that you are working with a person that has some differences, and different quarks, not bending with these quarks, and differences could ultimately cause the relationship to dissolve.

Why not bend like the reed? It takes more energy and causes the human mind to stress, and forms a chain reaction. How much life is lost due to stress? How much energy is spent to manage the worries, the problems, and the issues of your life? What is accomplished through the use of all this energy? Are you bending like a reed, or fighting the issues like an oak?

Take for example daily life of society, bills. If bills are to much for a household, why get another job, or stress out of making the dollar go further. Why not form simple solutions that immediately take the pressure off. Cancel the cable service, buy a board game. Restructure the service you have for the phone, to the lowest service they have. Turn the lights off, meditate, or go out and enjoy the outdoors to lower electric bills.

Easy solutions and when you start to learn that you can enjoy these easy and natural delights, then the levels of stress declines to nothing. Bend like the reed, it has no stress during the stormy wind. It comes back to stillness after the storm and lives on. Why as a human can we not perform such actions, why do we have to change everything that is not meant to change, and not change the things that do?

What is in a home but where the head rests? Can a rock or cave be a home, can tent or a wooden hut be a home? Does a home have to be lavish, does it have to be worth a certain amount of money? A home is just a place to feel safe, and to rest. Essentially that is all it is for, as time progresses in history society made it a lot more than this. How can you bend if you look at your self and only worry about the self, instead of focusing on helping that neighbor, or that friend? Be flexible help others for no reason. It will put a smile on that persons face, it will put a smile on your face, and that person will forever remember your kindness. How can you have stress if you live according to your nature as a human being?

Be Flexible in your wants, reduce what you want and crave and you need less to live with. I gave up TV and cable, since I have a computer and Internet I just catch my shows online. You worry about your kids future. Akuna Matata everyone, worry not about the child's future, help them today, spend time with them, teach them, mentor the children today. If today is handled correctly, tomorrow will take care of itself.

Stress is caused by the oak not bending, when forced to bend so much that oak breaks under the pressure. The reed never having the stress ensures it's survival after the storm. Stress not, become flexible, your body will be grateful, your mind will be clearer, and your life quality will increase.