Upon the jagged edge of a deep-water ocean reef, a giant kelp forest sways to the ebb and flow of the tempestuous tides. It is rooted deeply within the nutrient-rich waters of the Atlantic Ocean here upon the edge of the Cape of Storms – where monster swells and hurricane winds batter the shoreline – yet the kelp manages to weather this elemental onslaught …
Come winter, these gale-force squalls boom in from across #FalseBay to strafe the Peninsula mountain ranges, and their near super-natural power will rip branches from ancient trees, scattering huge oaks and pines uprooted in their devastating wake. There is a lesson in this from the ‘Old Master’ … .
In his ’Tao Te Ching’, Lao Tzu writes:
“An army without flexibility never wins a battle.
A tree that is unbending is easily broken.
The hard and strong will fall.
The soft and gentle will overcome”.
We are currently facing such a storm with #COVID19 and it is a good time to be open-minded; to move with the flow; to not be too rigid. Genuinely ingest all the information; listen to the full range of wise men and women out there (not just the ones that says what YOU want to hear); internalise all their wisdom and take time to meditate upon it. Most importantly: think – for yourself and the planet – on how to best navigate this uncertain future, because each and everyone of us have our own realities.
Be flexible, like the giant ocean kelp fronds, but always stay rooted to your own truth. Make peace with the blizzard of public opinion raging all around you – allowing it to buffet and sway you while you search for real essence – but all the while keeping yourself grounded. And then, once the tempest abates, find the flow and return to your centre again.
This too shall pass. But until it does, find ways to be still, mindful and compassionate, even if it means re-imagining your rooftop as a fondly remembered mountain peak. And never, ever stop living your truth
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