Verse 22: Flexibility

Verse Twenty-Two
Yield and overcome;
Bend and be straight;
Empty and be full;
Wear out and be new;
Have little and gain;
Have much and be confused.

Therefore the wise embrace the one
And set an example to all.
Not putting on a display,
They shine forth.
Not justifying themselves,
They are distinguished.
Not boasting,
They receive recognition.
Not bragging,
They never falter.
They do not quarrel,
So no one quarrels with them.
Therefore the ancients say, "Yield and overcome."
Is that an empty saying?
Be really whole,
And all things will come to you.
~ Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English translation ~

Lao Tzu so enjoys the use of paradox and apparent contradiction. In verse after verse, you'll find opposites paired together -- yin and yang -- in a symmetrical flow. If a person approaches this ancient text in a superficial manner, I can easily see how it can be taken as poetic gibberish. However, if the words and imagery are allowed to take deep root in our hearts, the simple truths of these apparent contradictions vanish.

Dr. Jill Henry of The Mountain Valley Center offers a good analogy of the concept of flexibility through the act of watching trees.

Go outside on a windy day and watch the trees. Really observe how the branches move, how the trunks bend, to the wind. Their bending makes them stronger. The wind is just wind. After it passes, the tree resumes its upright position. And also notice that only the trees that have become rigid break. Trees with life flowing through them are flexible. Reflect on your body, your mind. Bring the energy of yielding and flexibility into yourself, as a gift from the trees!

When envisioning a tree, think of a willow. During a wind storm, they seem to bend every which way possible and even some ways not so possible. Yet, once the wind has died down, the willow returns to its lazy appearance. It may have lost a few branches and leaves in the process, but the tree itself stands strong.

Okay, that's a powerful metaphor, you say, but how does that translate into my everyday life? Kyle Walker at The Doubtful Tao offers one answer.

Simple message, perhaps, but with profound implications. You see, flexibility can be applied across so many levels of your character that it’s easy to focus only on one level and miss other equally important levels. For example, you may be completely flexible when it comes to making decisions about daily activities with your spouse but be utterly inflexible when it comes to your opinions of others. Lao-Tzu is teaching us that flexibility should be applied across the whole shebang... our entire character.

...For every part of you that is not capable of bending, twisting, or being reshaped, there is that much of you that has the potential to be broken. Let me restate this: Every part of your character that is not flexible is a part of you capable of causing you great pain or trauma.

Another way to look at this idea of flexibility concerns the world of politics. If two equal sides come to the table and neither side is willing to bend, what we end up with is deadlock. Politics is all about compromise which is another way of saying flexibility.

Casey Kochmer of Personal Tao Musings applies the idea of flexibility in real-life terms in his post, Taoist Job Advice In Economic Downturns.

Avoid traps of past expectations. Chaotic times mean new rules of society will emerge. The new rules will not be the same as what it was in orderly times. Anyone who holds on too tightly to the past will often break since the weight of society is often stronger than personal ideals.

In almost all we do, flexibility is a virtue. Like a river, it allows us to flow around obstacles and to cut new channels. It allows us to blaze new trails through the forest when the way we have previously traveled becomes impenetrable. In essence, learning this lesson can help to bring us more peaceful and fulfilling lives.

This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.