I'm reading Dan Millman's new book Wisdom of the Peaceful Warrior. I have always enjoyed Dan's books, and I'm enjoying this one as well. This passage made me think of Bruce Lee's interview where he tells the viewer to "Be Water."

In Dan's first book, Way of the Peaceful Warrior, Socrates tells Dan, "Only the supremely wise and the ignorant do not alter." This is what Dan writes about that exchange in his new book:

"When Socrates quoted that old Confucian proverb, he meant that the ignorant are like stones and the wise are like water. Stones do not change; they only break or wear down over time. Yet water remains the same as it adapts perfectly to the shape of its container; even when moving from ice to liquid to gas, its essential nature remains."

Think about this when you are dealing with change, and accept it. We must all learn the inevitability of change and the wisdom of flexibility and acceptance, since nothing stays the same.

When dealing with martial arts, water is a very important principle and has many applications. See how many you can think of.

Remember Bruce Lee's advice and "Be water, my friend."

Yours in Training,
Alain