We are well used to seeing things that do not yield, that are instantly resourceful, as the ‘strongest’. Though in the way of Chinese philosophy it is pointed out that sometimes giving way makes you stronger as water can erode everything in time. And that’s the point, time. We are creatures of moments, held within the amber of infinity, and because we cannot conceive of timelessness we concentrate on the time we have. Everything is whittled down to fit into our lives and our vision rarely extends beyond what we have the energy to do in our own lifetimes.
Or do we? Silently, almost without knowing it, the thrust of our existence is to extend it. Every single person who bears a child is sending their life force down the coming ages. Every artist who creates the smallest thing is showing people to come how they thought, what they felt. Like water the human race is flowing down through time. Tumbling over centuries, a waterfall of ideas cascading into the minds of new generations.
We may hit brick walls from time-to-time but we simples flow around the edges and continue on our way. For thoughts are like water and cannot be stopped, nothing is their equal and nothing is stronger than their power to erode away pretension, delusion and self-satisfaction. And yes, create them too – water gets dirty sometimes.
Ideas are the paintbrushes that paint your personality into existence.