Strong Enough To Bend
“…I saw how it bends, flowing with the wind…”
newborn – we are tender and weak
in death – we are rigid and stiff
living plants are supple and yielding
dead branches are dry and brittle
so the hard and unyielding belong to death
and the soft and pliant belong to life
an inflexible army does not triumph
an unbending tree breaks in the wind
thus the rigid and inflexible will surely fail
while the soft and flowing will prevail
Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu - chapter 76
My volunteer maple tree that started growing in my yard about a year ago showed me something last night. During this time of year we have A LOT of wind. Blows almost every day.
Looking at the tree a while back, after the leaves came in, I noticed that the few forks of branches are always intertwined with each other. So I separated them. Mind you this is a lanky tree, easily 12-15 feet tall, no trunk to speak of, just these spindly branches.
Maybe, to protect it from the wind, I need to tie it to something? A tall pole maybe?
Watching it last night I saw how it bends, flowing with the wind. Bending just enough, giving just enough, so it didn’t break. The branches were intertwined again and moved as one. With the support afforded from the group, the tree could bend with the wind without breaking. Apart, I’m sure the branches wouldn’t have survived.
Sometimes I get in a state of mind so bad that I want to withdraw and separate myself from everything and everyone. Nothing and no one holds my interest. In a way I’ve been drifting from some of my friends. The times that I may need them the most is when I want to hide instead of reaching out.
Watching the tree last night I realized Mother Nature’s design is not for us to weather storms alone. Find something to wrap up with and bend.
By Natalie Dowell.
Natalie lives in Henderson, Nevada (near Las Vegas), and does Tech Support/Service/Quality for Satellite TV (Directv). Read her blog: I’d like to fly… Kindly contributed to Zen Moments by the author.
(Natalie also wrote The Road Not Taken)
Photo: Viento // Wind by Davic
Tao Te Ching – Lao Tzu – chapter 76 – interpretation by Zen Moments.
Recommended from Zen Moments Books:
Tao Te Ching 25th-Anniversary Edition
Translated by Gia Fu Feng & Jane English
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“…Like a poem, this version of the Tao Te Ching is not meant to be read in one breath from front to back, but is to be at intervals internalized and contemplated. Jane English’s haunting black-and-white photos that undulate in and out on every page act as glycerin elixirs, helping the words slide into our souls for patient digestion. The photographs–of a glistening spider web, cloud-enveloped mountain tops, reflections on water, leaves in the sunlight–are as serenely lyrical as the ancient text, itself. ..”
“The most accessible and authoritative modern English translation of the ancient Chinese classic. Offers the essence of each word and makes Lao Tsu’s teaching immediate and alive.” Amazon Reviews
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“Sometimes I get in a state of mind so bad that I want to withdraw and separate myself from everything and everyone. Nothing and no one holds my interest.”
That, I do believe, hit a bit too close to home.
I suppose self awareness is a good thing, but its always bad stuff I become aware of.
It can be a shock when we first tune into our inner voices, just how negative they can be – but these are just old habits of thought which can be worked with – a bit like getting physically fit.
I found Louise Hay’s books really helpful: http://astore.amazon.com/zenmom-20/detail/1561706280
This atmospheric story from Natalie in Nevada, comes with a beautiful verse from the Tao. We tried to get permission to use a lovely translation, but were met with silence. So we compiled our own from about 12 separate translations and Alan’s somewhat hazy grasp of some of the meanings of the Chinese Characters.
We’re pleased with the result – I think we’ve got a poetic sense of the real meaning…