Lao Tzu once wrote, "Bend and you need not break." Too often in life we seem to think that the only way to get anywhere is through force, struggle or manipulation. Life often seems to resemble the struggle to get on a cable car at Powell and Market Streets in San Francisco: everyone shoves and elbows his or her way on, as if that's the only way to make it. Yet the way of wisdom is oftentimes the way of yielding; trees which are supple and yielding bend to the wind so that they do not break. Running water (in rivers and streams) yields to obstacles in its path, surrounds them and engulfs them. It is said that to win in the Japanese game of Go, one must practice the virtues of patience, courtesy and gentle yielding. In our lives right now, perhaps we are pushing too hard, trying to make something happen or fighting against things. Maybe we have adopted, consciously or subconsciously, an adversarial attitude toward our life. Why not try yielding and letting go and see if our breakthrough doesn't happen without effort, struggle or strain?