The 43rd verse of the seminal text, the Tao Te Ching, reads:
天下之至柔， Tiānxià zhīzhì róu,
馳騁天下之至堅。 Chíchěng tiānxià zhīzhì jiān.
無有入無間， Wúyǒu rù wújiàn,
吾是以知無為之有益。 Wú shìyǐ zhī wúwéi zhī yǒu yì不言之教， Bù yán zhī jiào,
無為之益， Wúwéi zhī yì,
天下希及之。 Tiānxià xī jí zhī.All under Heaven is extremely supple and yielding,
It goes hurriedly towards all under Heaven that is extremely strong and firm.
That-which-is-not enters nowhere,
I, therefore, know effortless-action’s benefit.Not speaking, it teaches,
Not acting, it increases,
All under Heaven admire and reach up to it.
There have been many occasions where I have found that I have needed to bite my tongue and recall these words, especially when dealing with mainstream medical/health systems.
In the past I have been horrified at the advice that is given by (so-called) medical experts; advice that is neither logical, common-sense, or evidence-based.
What's more, it is appalling that this advice is given without any discussion of choice, alternative opinions, or even alternative approaches which are less interventionist and less severe.
One of the ways I used to help empower my clients was to teach them about B-R-A-N-D, which is a handy mnemonic to recall what to ask when presented with advice on any form of therapy or procedure. I posted about this on my blog, which you can read here.
For myself, the wisdom in the above quoted verse is to remember that my opinion — professional or otherwise — can only be given when requested.
As much as I would love to share what Chinese Medicine (or any natural medicine) can provide as an alternative to what the mainstream medical system has to offer, I have to remember that there is also wisdom to "not acting".
In the verse the phrase 天下之至柔 is used to describe 'that which offers no resistance'. Even had my professional been sought, would butting heads with another health professional really get any benefit for the patient?
Probably not; however offering an opinion to the client (when it is asked for), and letting them make their own choices is the wisest course of action — this is 無為 wúwéi, 'non-actionable-action' or 'effortless action'.
The wisdom of this verse also informs me about working with my own clients: sometimes the best course of action is none at all!
Or at least minimal, non-interventionist action.
I have witnessed this in paediatric illnesses, where some fairly serious childhood disorders have been 'treated' by not treating them. Whilst there are protocols and principles to treat these disorders with acupuncture and herbal medicine, I have seen good results from merely encouraging parents to continue to nurture the child, applying only fairly simple dietary changes.
It seems almost counter-intuitive to seemingly do nothing, especially after spending years working towards a degree to become a health professional. However, this approach proved to be very effective in certain situations.
I am reminded also in the patience and non-action of the Midwife during normal labour. She will usually sit back and allow the mother to birth under her own steam, stepping in only when there is a need, and sometimes — when the need is so great — she will also do nothing and refer to an Obstetrician, who of course is the expert in situations where normal labour has gone awry.
This is not a principle that is valued in our society.
Indeed, it is the very opposite that is indicative of the paradigm which informs our civilisation. 'Action' is seen as an indicator of strength, a heroic triumph of the individual who strives to conquer in a sort of epic battle against decay and death. Winners grab every opportunity as they come, they don't just sit back and 'do nothing' whilst the world continues on around them.
The struggle between these two very different notions — action and non-actionable-action — are apparent everywhere, not just in a medical/health setting.
I invite you to contemplate where each path would take you when confronted with a decision: "to act, or not to act".
What do you think?
Please feel free to share your thoughts and feelings on this question in the comments below.
