Be like water

I read a few years ago somewhere that a hallmark of a genius is being able to hold opposites together and transcend duality. I tried to make sense of it, because at first it was a very confusing concept. This train of thought  has taught me the dangers of holding onto apparent absolutes-for there are none. Once you believe in something as an absolute, you are automatically precluding yourself from believing in the opposite, which means that in some ways a part of your freedom of thought as a human being is forfeited as a result. 

A good example of rising above these conventional kind of thoughts constructed with absolutes is the “wave-particle duality”.  This concept shows the possible errors in absolutes and how they can prevent one from thinking “outside the box” so to speak. 

Wave-particle duality is the concept that all matter and energy exhibits both wave-like and particle-like properties. Physicists argued for a long time whether light was a wave or a particle, and their insistence on their present beliefs prevented them from realizing the possibility that light could be both at the same time. While this is a very specific example, even using abstract thought experiments seems to work as well. Take these two opposites for example:

I am nothing. I am everything. 

They both hold some truth and meaning. We can say we are everything because at any given point in time we are in contact with everything in the universe. It is impossible to escape both the tangible and intangible elements of the universe, they are constantly in contact with our being in a multitude of ways.  There are the atoms directly touching our skin as we sit, magnetic waves and invisible light waves from the sun passing through us, and the like. 

Through this phenomena nothing can truly separate itself from all of existence. At the same time, we are nothing. Being part of everything in some ways means we are truly nothing as an individual. The idea that we are separate from the universe is more or less a really persistent delusion that we have somehow acquired. And even if we were separate, the amount of matter that one consist of in relative scope to what an infinite universe might contain is mathematically zero. 

Now the concept and realization of knowing nothing, yet knowing everything opens up huge possibilities. Once we realize our lack we have everything to gain. Holding onto this thought one can remove all sense of both pride and humility.  We realize that we know nothing, and we are open to everything. Even while we know nothing, we can know everything because the truth of every situation exists in our being-thus all is possible and nothing is absolute. We know nothing, at the same time we know everything-sort of yin/yang, as the universe transpires or the Tao unfolds. The seed of yang exists in yin. Be ever yielding.

 

This is why always being open to  every aspect of circumstance  can be so powerful. We open ourself to the universe instilling  in us the most powerful type of truth-which is the truth of all possibility. We become a fluid force that adapts to everything and anything because our ego and preconceptions don’t get in the way. Having an ego makes us fall hard, stops us from learning the errors of  our ways. Being overly confident with knowledge makes us vulnerable to clinging onto something false. 

Bruce Lee`s famous saying is very powerful  “Be formless… shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle; it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot; it becomes the teapot. Water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” 

Knowing nothing lets us flow into everything.  Just allow and be open to the flow. This is where the power of  allowing the universe to take charge- in a sense allowing God.  If we know nothing, we can know everything. Whatever true knowledge we have acquired already exists outside of our being, all we need to do is let it apply itself, let it fill the void like water. Such are many things in life, letting go of some of one`s beliefs can set one free and give one the ability to rise above the rest-allow God`s will.