Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee

by Shannon Lee

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Water may flow swiftly or it may flow slowly, but its purpose is inexorable, its destiny sure.

“Never assert yourself against nature,” he told him. “Never be in frontal opposition to any problem, but control it by swinging with it.”

Had not this water just now illustrated to me the principle of gung fu? I struck it but it did not suffer hurt. Again, I struck it with all my might—yet it was not wounded! I then tried to grasp a handful of it but this proved impossible. This water, the softest substance in the world, which could be contained in the smallest jar, only seemed weak. In reality, it could penetrate the hardest substances in the world. That was it! I wanted to be like the nature of water.

Should not the thoughts and emotions I have when in front of an opponent pass like the reflection of the bird flying over the water? This is exactly what Professor Yip meant by being one in whom feeling was not sticky or blocked. Therefore in order to control myself, I must first accept myself by going with and not against my nature.

At its essence, water flows. It finds its way around (or even through) obstacles. My father would call this having “no limitations.” Water is present to its circumstances and surroundings and therefore ready to move in any direction that allows it passage. That openness and pliability means it is in a constant state of readiness, but a natural readiness because it is simply being wholly itself. To be like water, then, is to realize your most whole, natural, and actualized self where you are living

as much as possible in the slipstream of life as you forge your own path forward. Trust me when I say there is

Using no way as way, having no limitation as limitation.

When man is living, he is soft and pliable; when he is dead, he becomes rigid. Pliability is life; rigidity is death, whether we are speaking of the body, the mind, or the spirit. Be pliable.

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” Each day, we are different, and circumstances

are different. Even when a situation you have encountered before appears to be the same, it’s not. Nothing is constant. There are always subtleties at play.

We shall find the truth when we examine the problem. The problem is never apart from the answer; the problem is the answer.

To be certain, every day there can be a revelation or a new discovery that I can obtain. I dare not say that I have reached any state of achievement, for I am still learning, for learning is boundless!

Realizing that my emotions are both positive and negative, I will form daily habits which will encourage the development of the positive emotions and aid me in converting the negative emotions into some form of useful action.

The power of will is the supreme court over all other departments of my mind. I will exercise it daily when I need the urge to action for any purpose, and I will form habits designed to bring the power of my will into action at least once daily.