“Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.” ~ Bruce Lee

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Water needs the rifts, the ripples and the waves so that it keeps flowing.

Instead of battling against the current, fighting what was and trying to go back to what has passed, instead of resisting what is, or trying to rush ahead, towards what might be—be like water.

Calm and be at one with the water’s flow.

We will only ever pass the exact same thing once.

“Don’t get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water.”

Be aware, flexible, adaptive and always moving.

Ride the current. Observe and get to know how the river can direct.

“Running water never grows stale. So you just have to keep on flowing.”

Rocks and obstacles will appear along the path. Unexpectedly. Maneuver around them.

“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.”

Nothing can stop you. Anything in the way, pass over it, under it, around it. Explore, there is always a way. As you glide, absorb, take everything in, but always with awareness. The hidden and the obvious can both teach the same.

When man interferes and tries to modify the river, havoc is caused further along the way. The water can angrily and forcefully charge, or it can slow down and becomes blocked and stagnant. Try not to disrupt the path.

Carelessness and chaos may cause a crash. Watch every movement. Be every movement. When it takes your breath, go, keep with it, never panic and freeze. Realign, readjust and just remember to float.

“Life is never stagnation. It is constant movement, unrhythmic movement, as we as constant change. Things live by moving and gain strength as they go.”

Alter, bend, stretch and grow—breaking is not an option.

“The stillness in stillness is not the real stillness; only when there is stillness in movement does the universal rhythm manifest.”

Listen and let go of the need to control. Surrender. Be wild, but focused. Alert and attentive.

“Moving, be like water. Still, be like a mirror. Respond like an echo.”

Perceive, intuit, see. Everything is a reflection. Watch all expressions. Whenever something on the outside stirs the inside, look within. Trace it. Gently but with intention and conviction.

“You must have complete determination.”

Sustain focused awareness and focused attention, relax into it, be prepared and never give up or fold.

“If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life.”

Possibility is always possible. Never question or doubt. Believe.

“There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”

Remain in the moment, even when reflecting back or glancing forward. Centered, balanced, harmonious—at one, in time with the water.

“I try to live freely from moment to moment, letting things happen and adjusting to them.”

Be synchronized with the vessel carrying you. Internal and external as one.

There are no absolutes, no beginnings, no ends—it all blends. There is nothing that the mind cannot conquer.

“Life is wide, limitless. There is no border, no frontier.”

Don’t fight the tide. Conserve all energy. No struggle. Breathe, relax. Be carried. Sail downstream with faith and ease—tranquil, open and free.

“Not being tense but ready. Not thinking but not dreaming. Not being set but flexible.”

Don’t reach for things too far in the distance. Patience, grace, allow it to unfold.

Everything will arrive effortlessly and without force.

“The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.”

Be alive in every moment. Appreciate everything. Every experience has meaning and matters.

At periods of great conflict, find peace. An onslaught of emotions will weaken, overwhelm and disorientate. Let them flush over and through. Through. Let them pass through. Feel them. Then release them.

“Emptiness the starting point—in order to taste my cup of water you must first empty your cup. My friend, drop all your preconceived and fixed ideas and be neutral. Do you know why this cup is useful? Because it is empty.”

Heaviness slows everything down. Carry what you need, remove the rest of the load. Regularly.

Instead of overthinking…feel. Integrate the heart’s energy. Heart and mind united. An equal mix. Try not to repeat the same thoughts over and over. The mind becomes a habit. Slow it down. Let all sensations ignite and come to life.

“Let go. Don’t think, feel.”

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Relephant:

Be like Water.

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Author: Alex Myles

Image: Flickr/shots of carmen fiano

Editors: Yoli Ramazzina; Caitlin Oriel