Verse Sixty-One
Power flows down
to every level of existence
like a river to the ocean.
Victory comes
from lying perfectly still
and waiting for power
to come your way.
If you yield to someone
less powerful than yourself,
you will be in a position
to influence them.
If you submit to someone
more powerful than yourself,
you create an opportunity
to get your own way.
So if you want to get ahead,
lay low and bide your time.
That way, everybody's happy.
~ Ron Hogan rendition ~
Almost all of my resource material deals with this verse by discussing the differences in yin (female) and yang (male) attributes. I certainly won't dispute this perspective at all as this verse lends itself well to such a discussion. That said, I'm going to go off in a different direction.
For me, one of the key advantages to "lay low" is that it offers less exposure. Not infrequently, when a person, nation or army makes a bold and aggressive move, it becomes exposed to countermeasures and such measures will often snatch defeat from the jaws of victory!
It's not uncommon for those who favor yang acts to overestimate their own strength, intelligence, prowess and flexibility. Concurrently, it is also not uncommon that this goes hand in hand with underestimating these same attributes in an adversary. When these two egotistical attributes combine, there can be an unrealistic feeling of superiority.
It is often arrogance that defeats us more than any other factor. We get so full of ourselves that we miss vital clues along the path and problems or variables that could have been easily dispatched with -- had we been more watchful and vigilant -- become insurmountable obstacles that thwart us from reaching our objective.
While there certainly are times that quick and decisive moves must be made (e.g., a truck is hurtling toward you at 60 mph -- you better move out of the way lickety split!), more often than not, laying back to get a better view of the landscape and situation will yeild far more successful results.
Put another way, those who offer little exposure are less likely to be broadsided and more likely to accomplish what they set out to accomplish with little wasted motion or effort.
For me, one of the key advantages to "lay low" is that it offers less exposure. Not infrequently, when a person, nation or army makes a bold and aggressive move, it becomes exposed to countermeasures and such measures will often snatch defeat from the jaws of victory!
It's not uncommon for those who favor yang acts to overestimate their own strength, intelligence, prowess and flexibility. Concurrently, it is also not uncommon that this goes hand in hand with underestimating these same attributes in an adversary. When these two egotistical attributes combine, there can be an unrealistic feeling of superiority.
It is often arrogance that defeats us more than any other factor. We get so full of ourselves that we miss vital clues along the path and problems or variables that could have been easily dispatched with -- had we been more watchful and vigilant -- become insurmountable obstacles that thwart us from reaching our objective.
While there certainly are times that quick and decisive moves must be made (e.g., a truck is hurtling toward you at 60 mph -- you better move out of the way lickety split!), more often than not, laying back to get a better view of the landscape and situation will yeild far more successful results.
Put another way, those who offer little exposure are less likely to be broadsided and more likely to accomplish what they set out to accomplish with little wasted motion or effort.
HI R T
ReplyDeleteI love this post. I have a framed saying , - "KNOWLEDGE IS POWER"..I have learned the hard way that when I give away personal info I empower others to do what they will with the knowledge - Excellent post.
I am going to my neurologist today - we have much to do around my continuing disability income. Wish me luck
Love toyou
Gail
peace....