Book 78 - A Year of Magical Learning

Reflection Title - How to Be Water

Book - The Warrior Within: The Philosophies of Bruce Lee by John Little

Book Description: During his lifetime, legendary martial artist Bruce Lee formulated a complex personal philosophy--a synthesis of Eastern and Western ideals--that extolled the virtues of knowledge and total mastery of one's self. However, most of his philosophical writings could be found only within the personal library of the Bruce Lee estate--until now. The Warrior Within is the most comprehensive volume of these teachings, meant to help you apply Lee's philosophies to your own life.

Reflection:

My favorite philosophy of Bruce Lee's is when he says "Be Water, My Friend".

Here is his quote on what he means by this idea, "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.” To me, Bruce is encouraging us to use the properties of water to do your best to master your own universe around you. Be fluid, Be flexible, and Be Adaptable every time you are put into a new environment. Be whatever you need to be when you need to be it.

I think a lot of us would love to be like water in our lives in theory. We'd love to be able to manage the ebbs and flows of life to maintain balance and harmony while seemingly being effortless in the process. The problem with the idea of "being water" and other philosophical ideas in general are that they sound great in theory, but seem impossible to put into everyday practice.

As Ben Affleck's character in Armageddon would say, "It's all fun and games until someone gets shot in the arm". The moment that screaming baby wakes you up at 2 am and you wrestle for an hour to get them back to sleep but can't fall back to sleep yourself, can you be water then? Can you be water as you stare at the calendar on your phone as the hours pass from 3 to 4 to 5 am and you're still awake and your mind is spinning thinking how am I going to make these 10 meetings happen today, get a workout in, write and read for my book, take care of the kid, do all of this with your spouse out of town, and make it happen on no sleep? Can you be water then?

I wonder if you can tell how my night has been going...lol.

So how do you put the idea of "being water" into practice to turn it into a reality? I don't know what Bruce's answers would be to this question, but mine is core values. Values are a lot like water in my opinion. They are formless, shapeless, and adaptable to any situation. You can turn them into whatever actions and activities your mind can dream up in a moments notice.

I'll give you an example, one of my core values is learning something new everyday. I choose the activity of reading a book to accomplish that value each day, but I can learn from anything, anywhere, and in any environment. I don't have to have a book. I could listen to a podcast, watch a movie or documentary, visit a museum, take a seminar, browse the internet, talk to a stranger, etc. You can take away almost any tangible item from me with which I can learn, but you can never take the idea of what I value from me. Through that idea, I will find a way to learn no matter what circumstances I'm given.

That is how I try to "be water" in my everyday life. With my values, I can be adaptable and still maintain my balance and harmony no matter what life throws my way. When you have core values...you can truly be water.

Question: What techniques or strategies do you use to try to and "be like water" in your life?

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Links:

What is The Year of Magical Learning? An Introduction

YOML Podcast Discussion - The Warrior Within

YOML Bookstore - The Warrior Within: The Philosophies of Bruce Lee by John Little