Water is the element that refuses to hold a shape, that takes the shape of whatever contains it, that flows around obstacles without fighting them — which is either a description of water or a complete philosophy of life, depending on who you ask. The Daoist calls it wu wei; Nasreddin fell into it regularly and called each immersion a lesson, which cost him more in dignity than tuition usually does. Every tradition that lives near water develops a philosophy of yielding.
Nas