a taoist moment of realization
a shift in spirituality, another step on the path
i had always known the tiger and the dragon to be related to the tao. they represent the duality of the yin-yang. essentially, the active and re-active forces of nature. for some reason, too much tv, movies, or what i had them somewhat confused.
i had always thought the tiger to be the yang, the active. and the dragon to be the reactive. the dragon being the more intelligent being, i thought would be "smart" enough to be the reactor. wise in its ways, it would see things coming and intercept them.
this is simply not the case. in tradtional taoist symbolism, i have now learned it is the opposite, and after some thought, it makes great sense. dragons do have great minds, and therefore attempt to meddle, to manipulate, to initiate. a tiger just wants to get through its days, eating and sleeping.
to me the tiger seemed more violent, aggresive, the dragon more reserved. however, the tiger is only aggresive when it must hunt, and only hunts when it must eat. it is only trying to survive, reacting to the challenges of everyday life a creature must deal with.
like most westerners, i have had too much yang (active, stong, male), and not enough yin (re-active, yeilding, female) energy. i have been trying to find a way to embrace the yin, as this yeilding way seems to be the a great key in contending with the myriad cratures. yeild to them, they will no longer bother you. let them feed from you, and they will no longer hunger. when they are satisfied, they go back to where they came from, back to sleep.
embracing the spirit of yin, the tiger, feels so simple. letting go of cleverness and meddling. simply letting others act first. watching, curiously, without interfering until the time is right, and then only if it is truly neccesary.
the other revelation i had is that all this time i have been embracing yang, the dragon spirit. this is not wrong, it is part of nature and so cannot be wrong. i was simply out of balance. however, even through this weakness (unbalance) i have grown in strength (such is the way of the tao) my dragon is incredibly clever, quite capable of action, and quite strong. this side of me will make the perfect compliment to my yin/tiger spirit as it grows.
to some extent, i do feel almost like a young kitten. looking onto the new world with ridiculously wide eyes. i feel ready to chase balls of yarn. watching every movement, keying in on every sound. its good to be young again.
i had always known the tiger and the dragon to be related to the tao. they represent the duality of the yin-yang. essentially, the active and re-active forces of nature. for some reason, too much tv, movies, or what i had them somewhat confused.
i had always thought the tiger to be the yang, the active. and the dragon to be the reactive. the dragon being the more intelligent being, i thought would be "smart" enough to be the reactor. wise in its ways, it would see things coming and intercept them.
this is simply not the case. in tradtional taoist symbolism, i have now learned it is the opposite, and after some thought, it makes great sense. dragons do have great minds, and therefore attempt to meddle, to manipulate, to initiate. a tiger just wants to get through its days, eating and sleeping.
to me the tiger seemed more violent, aggresive, the dragon more reserved. however, the tiger is only aggresive when it must hunt, and only hunts when it must eat. it is only trying to survive, reacting to the challenges of everyday life a creature must deal with.
like most westerners, i have had too much yang (active, stong, male), and not enough yin (re-active, yeilding, female) energy. i have been trying to find a way to embrace the yin, as this yeilding way seems to be the a great key in contending with the myriad cratures. yeild to them, they will no longer bother you. let them feed from you, and they will no longer hunger. when they are satisfied, they go back to where they came from, back to sleep.
embracing the spirit of yin, the tiger, feels so simple. letting go of cleverness and meddling. simply letting others act first. watching, curiously, without interfering until the time is right, and then only if it is truly neccesary.
the other revelation i had is that all this time i have been embracing yang, the dragon spirit. this is not wrong, it is part of nature and so cannot be wrong. i was simply out of balance. however, even through this weakness (unbalance) i have grown in strength (such is the way of the tao) my dragon is incredibly clever, quite capable of action, and quite strong. this side of me will make the perfect compliment to my yin/tiger spirit as it grows.
to some extent, i do feel almost like a young kitten. looking onto the new world with ridiculously wide eyes. i feel ready to chase balls of yarn. watching every movement, keying in on every sound. its good to be young again.