Daodejing, Verse 43

Daodejing - Other Voices

43 ~ Flowing Around Obstacles
The most flexible things in the world can run swiftly past the most rigid things in the world,
Without having to penetrate what has no openings.
From this we can understand the benefits of non-interference.

Some things in the world are rigid and impenetrable, like the trunk of a tree or a huge stone. And yet, a soft vine can easily twine itself up the tree trunk, and a gentle breeze can flow around a huge stone. The vine and the breeze don't need to change the nature of the tree trunk or the stone in order to keep going.

On the other hand, people tend to want to change the nature of anything that comes in their way. If they come upon an obstacle, their first reaction is to try to eliminate it using either their minds or brute force. If we don't interfere with the nature of anything else, it becomes much easier to simply flow around it.

Everything in Nature seems to work together without any intervention. A soft flexible vine will curl itself on the rigid trunk of a tree, and both plants flourish and reach maturity. It's the same with the natures of people. Some people softly intertwine with the world around them, and others act like ridgepoles around which the more flexible can move. Would there be any advantage in trying to make a vine rigid or trying to make a tree trunk supple? Then why would people try to change each other's nature?

This wordless teaching filled with the advantages of non-interference.
Few in the world have the ability to grasp it.

You can see the advantages of leaving things to pursue their own paths in Nature, but it's hard to express in words how that can relate to leaving people to follow their own paths. Most people seem so dead set on trying to tell the rest of the world how they should behave that they can't see the advantages in not interfering with others. Would you really want everyone to think and act like you do? It's much more fun to interact like the vine and the tree. There are times to caress, and times to be caressed.

Most people look to their minds to solve problems and try to find the answers through their own or other people's words. Although words are a great method of communicating, there are other ways to learn lessons about how to live a happier and more beneficial life. Look at the vine and the breeze - no words are necessary to accomplish what's most advantageous to them and whatever they come into contact with. Flowing around obstacles can allow each thing to follow their own course without interfering.
~ from Dao is Open, author Nina Correa, original post date: not listed ~

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