It’s the small man who overcomes

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It’s the small man who overcomes

The way of the small is the way of service.  I’m a tiny piece of a gigantic jigsaw; yet, I sense my connection to the All.

The big man (or big woman) walks the path of self-interest. His feet are manacled to the chains of ego. The small man walks the way of love. The small man walks the way of Spirit.

The big has led humanity to the edge of the precipice. Only the small can draw us back. The way of the small is the path of service and action. The way of the small overcomes.

It’s not the big man who overcomes

As he pushes the stone
Of all that he owns

Up the hill of his loss
Never counting the cost

It’s the man in the arms
Of the woman who calms

Whose yoga is the yoga
Of birth & earth

Whose kiss is the kiss
Of moon & sun

It’s the small man who overcomes
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¹ It’s not the big egocentric man who overcomes. It’s the man connected to his soul (the inner woman who enables him to feel). It’s the feminine principle that connects a man to the earth, to the real, to the concrete, to feeling, to unfolding life, to connection.

‘In Taoism, it’s the feminine principle that allows a man to flow with the Tao; (or the Self).  The Tao Te Ching puts it this way: ‘He who stands on tiptoe, doesn’t stand firm/He who rushes ahead, doesn’t go far/He who tries to shine, dims his own light/ He who defines himself, can’t know who he really is/he who has power over others, can’t empower himself/He who clings to his work, will create nothing that endures/If you want to accord with the Tao, just do your job, then let go’ (24, Stephen Mitchell translation).

The saying reminds me of Jesus’ story, of the foolish man, who built his house on the sandy ground of his ego… rather than the solid rock of the Self (or true nature). When the storm came his house (inevitably) collapsed.

 Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurtled themselves against the house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act is like a stupid man who built his house upon sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell and what a fall it had.’ Matthew 7: 24-27 NJV

Meditation: reflect on ‘the way of the small’ in your life. How does it support you (and others)? How does it help you ‘overcome?’