Be Like Water

Thomas Sayers Ellis (a fantastic poet) visited campus the other day and while a lot of what he said was trippy awesome shit, the one thing that stuck with me was when he quoted Bruce Lee and said, "Be like water". Of course water has always been the element I identify with most, despite how all astrology crap says I should identify with fire. I always associate fire as heart strong, earth as stubborn, air as pensive and water as a balance. And yeah, I've made a lot of impulsive heart strong decisions in my time, like choosing to be in a relationship I knew would be bad for me, and I've made a lot of head strong decisions, like choosing to forgo part of my family for the sake of my mental health. (Well I was kicked out, but when asked to come back I said no.)

Anyway, I always seem to find myself balanced between head and heart. But that wasn't what Ellis meant when he said "Be like water". He explained to us that water takes the shape of whatever form or container it is put in. Water adapts and takes the path of least resistance. This was all in context of asking how Ellis feels about free verse poetry, but it made a lot of sense to me, not only in just writing popular forms of poetry. To be successful, you have to adapt, move on, and take the path of least resistance. Sure there will be times where you may have to trek uphill, but remember, water is not always peaceful and calm. When enraged and provoked, water can be just deadly as fire, and if it wants to overcome an obstacle, it will.

I've adapted to a lot and I don't push uphill unless the reward is truly worth it. Put me in any situation, and I can make it work. So far, I've always come out on top, and that is why water is such a beautiful element. Unlike fire, it doesn't have to be controlled to be successful. I would just advise to not provoke it. I've been recently stuck in a little tiny container, told to adapt and I am trying, but I've been provoked again and again since then by the same person who put me there. I've been holding back the floodgates but there is a storm brewing. Unless he stops trying to destroy my relationships out of self pity and spite, it is likely the wave from hell is going to brought down on his ass. I think he underestimates the respect my friends have for me, my intelligence and ability to see through his facade to his ugly inside. So his inability to see me as an equal instead of as his inferior may just be his downfall. But we shall see.

~E J Royson