At my son’s birth, I wore a shirt honoring Bruce Lee with the inscription “No way as way.  No limitation as limitation.”  Echoing one of his greatest teachings and contributions to humanity, this is about the way of fluidity, being open, unfettered, unchained.  It is the way of water.  It is what is often not understood or practiced.  

This one is about freedom.

In my fields of study and practice, I often encountered what I thought were ridiculous hills that people would die on.  What causes crime?  Poverty, free will, strain, self control, ties, etc.?  It’s all of these to some extent – it depends on the individual, environment, situation.  Or in policing.  Should we go all in broken windows or community policing?  How about both?  Go learn from a Malaysian – hearts and minds with the threat of and use of force.  I even and especially saw this in matters of faith.  Are we predestined to go to heaven-hell or do we have a say in that matter?  How about maybe a bit of both and this isn’t something a mere mortal can even fully comprehend?  

These unnecessary limitations and strict black-white, either-or thinking is pretty ineffective and inefficient.  It will at times get you even killed.  And also makes for very boring academic publications.  I remember going to these academic conferences and realizing the highlights for me were the bathroom  and coffee breaks.  It was the same thing in my politically motivated jobs.  Instead of trying to reconcile or unify these concepts, the end result would be some type of bickering.  Followed thankfully at times by donuts and coffee.

I teach my kids why Bruce Lee named his style or philosophy of fighting Jeet Kune Do, translated as intercepting fist.  It captures the concept that an opponent is most vulnerable when he or she is attacking you.  This can be the best time to strike.  But even this can be a limitation.  Sometimes you may not want to strike back but deflect, harness, even absorb.  It just depends.  Even the philosophy of Jeet Kune Do isn’t immune to evolution and change.  It’s not supposed to be static, dogma.  An idea consistent with other influential thinkers – maybe even God Himself.  

The son asked me whether he should be an artist or author.  I told him he can be both.  His Chinese name is Bruce’s and who was really his namesake?  An actor, teacher, writer, warrior?  He was all of the above – and more.  He was Bruce Lee.  Undefinable, immeasurable, unlimited.

Like water.