Dear Patient,
I was already in bed at 7:15PM on Christmas Eve, sick with a fever, when I got the text: the pipes had frozen and burst at one of my clinics, and water was flooding in.
Before I even had time to respond, my colleague Trey had already ventured out in the arctic blast (on Christmas Eve and his kid’s birthday), to shut off the water and clean up the soggy mess. Water had poured in from the ceiling and covered the floors, leaving about centimeter of standing water—not much, but that enough to do some serious damage. It soaked ceiling tiles, seeped under baseboards, saturated the walls, ruined our flooring, warped the legs of our furniture, and wreaked even more havoc in the suites below.
Welcome, winter—the season when the Water element becomes predominant. Water, associated with the cold climate and the emotion of fear, is a period of hibernation, gestation, slowing, contracting, and downward movement.
Right on cue, just a few days after the solstice, Water, that most yin of elements, the phase of winter and cold, made its presence known.
And as much as I want to rage in anger against the destructive nature of Water, I also know that Water has much to teach us.
In the midst of the stress, Trey reminded me of this famous bit of wisdom from Bruce Lee:
“Be water, my friend.”
If a boulder sits in the middle of a river, water doesn’t fight the boulder or try to move it out of the way. Water flows around it and washes over it and continues on its path. Eventually, the giant boulder is reduced to a tiny pebble, not by force, but simply by water following the laws of nature.
If water is poured into a short, squat cup, it doesn’t try to take the shape of a tall, skinny bottle instead. It simply fills the vessel that holds it.
If water is frozen, it doesn’t expend effort trying to move. If water is rushing, it doesn’t try to slow itself down.
Water isn’t rigid. It can’t be bent or broken. You can pour water, sprinkle it, swish it, splash it, stick your hand in it, warm it up or cool it down. But you can’t punch water, or saw it in half.
Water obeys, yet cannot be forced.
It yields, yet can overpower.
It rests in stillness when contained, and flows freely where the way is unimpeded.
It has no agenda and nothing to prove.
Water changes shapes, changes forms, can be motionless or rushing, frozen or vapor. And yet it remains itself. Whether it’s in a cup, a drop in a vast ocean, or spewing out of a busted pipe, it’s still water.
Water wants nothing. It simply exists in accordance with its true nature.
It’s a new year. And whatever happened last year, last month, or yesterday is gone. Possibilities lie ahead.
Be water, my friend.
Love and gratitude,
Your Acupuncturist
P.S. You really must hear the words “Be water, my friend” from Bruce Lee himself to feel their full impact. I highly recommend this old interview clip. It’s 30 seconds well spent.
Thanks for the great reminder and I hope your water issue resolves itself easily and effortlessly with help from the insurance company! Happy New Year!
in the year of the water rabbit. Nice.
Happy New Year to you and everyone at Encircle Acupuncture. 🤗