In many cases, much of the stress, fear and anguish that we experience on a daily basis is mainly due to the fear of change.
One day we realize that we must accept more and more responsibilities, we notice how old friends are leaving and we even feel insecure when we notice how our own body is evolving. So much the fear of losing our identity and habits over time How the uncertainty caused by not being certain of what will happen in the future can make our lives miserable.
However, there are certain ways of understanding existence that protect us more against this type of evil. The motto “be water, my friend” pronounced by the legendary actor and martial artist Bruce Lee in his last interview is precisely an example of how some philosophies fully embrace the idea that everything changes, constantly, and that this is good and natural
A philosophy of life marked by the acceptance of change
If Asian cultures such as Chinese or Japanese have been characterized by something, it is by accepting change. While in the West a way of understanding things has dominated that fueled the need for human beings to dominate nature and modify it at will, in much of the territory of the East, until not so long ago, things were seen in a different way. very different way: give up the pretense of taming the environment and merge with it, evolving just as the planet does.
This idea was hinted at in a very interesting interview with Bruce Lee recorded in black and white which became popular in 2007 when one of its fragments was rescued by a BMW television spot from the SCPF advertising agency.
In fact, the most remembered phrase is precisely the one in which the good thing about stopping fearing change and becoming change ourselves is expressed through a beautiful metaphor: “Be water, my friend”
Be water, my friend: what does it mean?
This inspiring phrase is not a simple facade, behind it there is a way of understanding things that have thousands of years of tradition behind them. It is a philosophical principle called Wu Wei which literally means “No Action” and belongs to a current of thought originating in ancient China called Taoism.
The idea of non-action, as we will see, is radically opposite to the way in which people in Western countries approach things, since it is based on the idea that acceptance and humility is the best way to live and adapt to constant change that characterizes our world.
The keys to adapting to change
The fundamental idea that governs philosophies such as Taoism, one of the most influential in Chinese culture, is that everything flows and that we should not try to shield ourselves and remain static It is a very useful perspective when experiencing the passage of time and experiences, with all that this entails, and can be summarized in 8 laws:
1. Change is natural
That which always remains the same only exists in our imagination, it is not something real that defines the world in which we live. Even the oldest trees end up drying out and giving way to new forms of life and new landscapes.
There is no objective way to interpret what surrounds us, since change is always ahead of our ideas and conclusions. This fact makes Chinese philosophy feed an intellectual position based on humility
3. Destruction is also creation
Everything flows, and that means that even In the most disastrous events there are seeds of opportunity Taoism expressed a similar idea through a very famous concept: Yin and Yang.
4. Our change is the change of the world
We are not beings separate from the rest of the world; and all the processes that take place around us make that we evolve in one sense or another
5. Don’t think about essences
The idea that everything and everyone has an essence is counterproductive, because it only leads us to create rigid labels and concepts that do not explain a changing reality immune to the intellectual prisons that these rigid categories suppose
This maxim is especially important in recent times, characterized by the rapid evolution of ways of life due to technological advances and globalization. In the era in which the Internet and 3D printing are changing everything just a few years after its creation, it is absurd to expect everything to remain the same, as if that were to be expected.
6. Live in the present
Wanting to build one’s life based on memories and fixed ideas about identity only generates frustration, because, as we have seen, fluidity and change are natural. Reality never responds to the pressures of very limited concepts ; who was shy and discreet yesterday, today could be denying himself tomorrow by blindly believing in that identity that he has expired.
7. Don’t worry about the shapes of who you are, nature already shapes them
Acting with spontaneity and simplicity is one of the maxims of Taoism, a philosophy in which it is considered that things work better when we try control less of our environment and the way in which we project ourselves into this As Bruce Lee says, water is characterized by having no form; It simply adapts to that of your container.
