Cross-cultural communication （129）　

129) Be water, my friend.
I read “Be water, my friend,” a detailed account of the life philosophy of Bruce Lee, one of my heroes introduced in Cross-cultural communication (87), from the end of 2021 to the spring of 2022. This book was written by Shannon Lee, Bruce's daughter, who was only four years old when he died suddenly. She is currently the president of the Bruce Lee Foundation.?

Shannon's older brother Brandon, who was four years her senior, was an actor but died in an accident on set at the age of 28. Following her father's death and her brother's untimely passing, she experienced a long period of depression. As one way to overcome her depression, she decided to examine her father Bruce's short but fulfilling life. She also asked her mother Linda about her father when he was alive. Additionally, Bruce was a prolific writer, leaving behind many writings about his thoughts and future plans at the time. Shannon compiled these writings in her own words and added her own commentary, which is what makes up this book. “Be water” literally means to be flexible like water, not bound by old ways, and to live flexibly. However, this is by no means opportunism or blind conformity. In martial arts, one first builds one's own form through diligent practice. However, once in a match, one must never think about the scenario of the fight. One must naturally react to the flow of the match and the opponent's movements. It is not about “thinking” but “feeling.” Bruce wrote that this principle can be applied not only to martial arts but also to how one lives one's life.

The phrase “Don't think, feel!” that appears at the beginning of this blog post (# 87) comes from a scene in Enter the Dragon. At that time, the disciple being instructed by Bruce is named Lao. Therefore, the scene where this line appears is called “Lao's Time.” In this book, there is a section called “Lao's Time,” where the conversation between master Bruce and the young Lao is written as it was. If you search for “Lao's Time” or “Enter the Dragon” on YouTube, you can watch the scene from the movie. Those of my peers who were obsessed with this movie in the early 1970s will surely resonate with this. I wonder if younger generations will find it interesting as well? If you're interested, I highly recommend giving it a read?it's written in casual English and easy to follow.

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