How to be Certain in an Uncertain and Ever Changing World
The Strong Tree Breaks
The Strong Tree Breaks
Greetings! I find that my newsletters are some of my less read articles for The Taoist Online. So, I thought I’d try something different.
If there’s one thing the yin-yang can teach us, it is everything changes. Also, change is natural, normal, and healthy. The push of yin into yang causes yang to move and yin to dominate for a time. The push of yang into yin causes yin to move and yang to dominate for a time. The more we fight this cycle of opposing forces, the more stress and anxiety we can feel.
So, I using a recent event in my town, I wrote a short story for you.
The Story of the Weak Tree
A huge storm rolled through my city a week ago,
but it didn’t cause any major breaks.
We were with out power for a little bit.
I drove my kids to school and they were shocked
to find a tree had uprooted near by.
Large, that tree, it was, so big and so strong.
Or was it? That tree that tried to be large.
What is true strength in the face of danger?
Is not victory defined by living?
The small trees around my city were fine.
Hardly any branches had been broken
and their roots were still holding in the ground.
But why would the large, strong, tree not survive?
You see, strength isn’t found in your muscles.
It’s found in your ability to yield.
Who allows others who attack to tire.
Standing firm against the wind, death takes you.
Bending to the raging storm like a palm
you will forever realize this truth.
Raising children, working for a bad job,
anything at all. Sometimes the more you force,
The more pain. The more ambition; more loss.
Like the sign on the road. Optional? No.
Live your life like the palm tree. Be weak, friends.
Be courteous. Be sympathetic. Strong.
Where ever this message finds you, I hope you love what you’re doing today. Steve Jobs once said that every day he would wake up and when he would look in the mirror, ask him self, “If today were my last day on Earth, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” If the answer is no too many days in row, he knew it was time for a change.
It takes strength to change, bend, and yield. It’s not as easy as the tree makes it look on stormy days. Just ask the tree that fell over.
But we aren’t made of wood! We are flesh and blood and we were meant to move, dance, and enjoy life, so, go out and do it!
I love you all and I’ll talk to you soon.
Thank you,
Patrick Stewart
First person to guess the form of the short story I’ll donate $5 to a charity of your choice.