Heraclitus, the ancient Greek philosopher, saw and understood the way of water. He once said, “No man ever steps in the same river twice.” This is because the water is always flowing and changing. It signifies the certainty and inevitability of change that no one can resist. Heraclitus believed that our lives are like streams having to deal with constant change.
But the question is, how can we live amidst the changes that occur?
Be Water, My Friend
If we examine the ancient Chinese philosophy such as the Tao Te Ching, which is attributed to Lao Tzu, there is a passage about water that says, “The highest good is like water which benefits all things without contention. In its dwelling, water rests on the ground. In thinking, it flows to depth. In giving, it is generous. In speech, it is sincere. In government, it does not control. In work, it matches its timing. Water is content with itself, and therefore does not invite reproach.”
Here the Taoist way of water teaches us to remain humble, adapt, and embrace change – just as water shifts shape flexibly to fit any vessel or environment. For example, water transitions smoothly between liquid, solid and gas depending on conditions. It follows the path of least resistance rather than forcing or clinging rigidly to a single form.
Bruce Lee, the legendary martial arts expert and philosopher, also believed profoundly in adopting water’s way. He expressed the secret to his mastery, saying “Water can flow, or it can crash…Be water, my friend.” Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon wrote of her father’s vital teachings on how to train our minds to respond fluidly like water: Begin by emptying biased thoughts to achieve a neutral, open state from which to mirror circumstances as they unfold, without judgment or attachment. Absorb all that comes, positive and negative, simply flowing around obstacles. Thus water remains in forward motion at every moment without fixing on specific destinations. It accepts the impermanence of states the way Bruce Lee described life itself as “a process, not goal.”
Through changes, water retains harmony and inner abundance of possibility.