Wednesday 14 January 2009

Ancient Wisdom (Part II)

Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.
- Lao-Tzu

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is one of the most profound paradoxes I have heard in a long time. Oh, that we could always remember that in our reactions to life experiences.

Robert said...

ditto to kittykats comments thank you so much for your comment to me on my page miss jennypo please keep digging deep down for the things you share they are precious gems!!!

Anonymous said...

Told you I would poke around here a bit. Back in the day when I believed in the supernatural, it was a logical extension for me that just as the softer water is stronger than the hard rock, so our softer flesh bodies have longer lives than our hard metallic automobiles. By extension, the softest of all things would be the immaterial soul, which endureth forever, beyond the harder flesh body. This is not my truth anymore, but I express it here as it may resonate with you or some of your guests.

Showing how old a codger I am, much beautiful and subtle thought from the orient was incorporated into the old TV show Kung Fu. I have all of the Kung Fu shows on DVD. Then some years later, there was a Kung Fu Revisited show for a while. It was set in contemporary times with descendants of the original Cain. They made a cute little inside joke about oriental thought by having one of the protagonists go up to a hot dog vendor and say, 'Make me one with everything.'

jennypo said...

Exrelayman,
I hope it will become evident that I am not a fan of all things soft and sweet. What is soft may be powerful, but what is hard often gives stability. The force of the one is spilled and lost without the other to provide a channel.

The body is the vehicle of the soul, and the mind a gatekeeper. The souls of the healthiest among us are the rulers, and the minds the administrators; but all were meant to cooperate, and none is to be despised.

jennypo said...

p.s. I smiled as I groaned at your Kung-Fu joke. :)