Barry Westley
Dealing with Brexit
We live in interesting times (in Taoist terms this is NOT a good thing!).
Opinions are being aggressively batted about as if they are fact!
Predictions of impending doom or joy are touted with righteous confidence, but no-one really knows.
Time for me to repeat my favourite Taoist story…
An old man has only one son and a horse.
One day the horse runs away. His neighbours come round and give lots of sympathy, but the old man just smiles and says:
“Might be good. Might be bad.”
A week later the horse returns, bringing with it 6 wild mares. His neighbours gather to congratulate him on his good fortune, but the old man just smiles and says:
“Might be good. Might be bad.”
A week later, the horse kicks the old man’s son in the knee, shattering it and crippling him for life. His neighbours come round and give lots of sympathy, but the old man just smiles and says:
“Might be good. Might be bad.”
A week later the army arrive in the village and forcibly take all the able bodied men to war…
Adapting to change
If we are honest, we do not know what the future will bring. Even the worst case scenario may turn out to be better than we imagined, or our perceived Eden, a disaster.
Great civilisations rise and fall (Egypt, Greece, Rome, Ottoman Empire, etc.).
The British Empire is no different.
This is the nature of things.
Trying to hold on to (or return to) some mythical ‘greatness’ seems foolish to me.
Taoism teaches us to adapt to change and flow with the reality of what is happening.
What is happening is probably inevitable and in a thousand years will seem part of a bigger cycle of either growth or decay. Who knows? Out of all this chaos and dissent may come a new, better political order.
Whatever happens we will try to deal with it then.
In the midst of all this turmoil, if we breathe, temper our opinions, relax and laugh at our certainties, we may all be able to get through it with our sanity.
