Flexibility - To be or not to be

Flexibility is our ability to be open to changes.  It enables us to adapt to changes with less effort.

As we all know, our very survival depends on our ability to adapt to changes and from that perspective, flexibility is an important quality to have.

Some of the other benefits of being flexible are:

1. It improves our agility to respond quickly to any sudden changes within and around us.
2. It improves our willingness to learn new skills which may be required to grow in our professions.
3. It improves our ability to make friends easily which may be the most important skill to work in groups.
4. It improves our ability to perceive things as they are as we are not tied down by ideas, beliefs, dogmas and so on.

In my workshops, when I talk about flexibility, I usually quote few lines from the song ‘Amaithiyaana Nathiyinilae Odum’ written by Poet Kannadasan, a gifted lyricist, from the 1964 Tamil film, Aandavan Kattalai:

To watch the song

To read the lyrics both in English and Tamil

Thennam ilankeetrinilae

Thaalaatum thendral adhu

Thennai thanai

Saaithu vidum puyalaaga

Varum pozhuthu

This may be loosely translated as follows:

The wind, when it blows gently as a breeze, appears to be rocking the leaves of a coconut tree as though it is putting them to sleep; the same wind, when it blows harshly as a cyclone, completely destroys the coconut tree.

I ask the participants, “Why is the coconut tree, which appears to be very robust, destroyed by the wind?”

They tell me that it is because the coconut tree is very rigid.

 

Then I quote the next stanza:

Aatrankarai 

Metinilae aadi nirkum

Naanal adhu

Kaatradithaal

Saaivathillai kanintha

Manam veezhvathillai

This may be loosely translated as follows:

The grass, which is swaying on the banks of the river, does not get destroyed by the wind; supple mind does not fall.

Again, I ask them, “Why is the grass, which appears to be very fragile, not destroyed by the wind?”

They tell me that it is because the grass is very flexible.

Then we all agree that we need to be flexible like the grass.

One morning, when my wife, Aruna, and I were having breakfast, I narrated to her this approach that I take to explain flexibility in my workshops.  I thought that she’ll be impressed with my creative approach.  Instead, she became very quiet and thoughtful.

I asked her, “Why are you so quiet?”

She replied hesitatingly, “Can we be flexible in all aspects of life?”

I asked her back, “You tell me.”

She replied firmly, “We can’t be flexible with principles like integrity and honesty.”

I smiled and asked her, “When the grass is swaying with the wind, what does the root of the grass do?  Does it also sway with the wind?  What will happen if the root also starts swaying with the wind?”

She replied immediately, “The grass will be uprooted and destroyed.”

I smiled and said, “Exactly.  Principles like integrity and honesty are all like the root of the grass; they are fundamentals laws which can’t be broken; if we are flexible with them, we’ll be destroyed.  Practices are like the leaves of the grass; we need to be flexible with them in order to adapt ourselves to the changes faced by us.”

She appeared to be convinced with my reply.

So, let's be very clear:

“We can be flexible with practices; not with principles.”