In his 1950 acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize, Bertrand Russell stated that humans are motivated by four primary desires: acquisitiveness, rivalry, vanity, and love of power. Of these four, power may be the least understood.
Many of us associate power with strength and hardness. However, that’s a severe misunderstanding. Power can also be soft. According to the Tao Te Ching, “Thus whoever is stiff and inflexible is a disciple of death. Whoever is soft and yielding is a disciple of life.” (Yes, I’m aware of the irony of combining the Tao Te Ching with Russell’s four desires.)
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| The Grand Canyon |
One can see soft power in action by looking at nature. The blade of grass breaks up the sidewalk. The river eats away at the land forming massive canyons out of solid rock.
Soft power isn’t fast. It takes time to work. Yet, in my opinion, it’s worth it.
To learn more about the soft power of Taoism, I highly recommend the YouTube video Softness: The Underestimated Power on the Einzelgänger channel.
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