wood element
Wood is the outlet for water… out of the deep mystery and reflection, we get action, movement and growth! Wood is about how we move through challenges and achieve goals. It’s about having a vision for the path ahead (in the Water we access wisdom, in the Wood the general has the plan and takes action).
There’s so much energy for growth in the Spring, the Wood season, it requires being tenacious and flexible both. That sprout has a big job to do with all sorts of obstacles and setbacks likely, requiring ongoing strength and flexibility.
All the big work we find in the Intermediate System really embodies the Wood energetics.
Bamboo offers a perfect model of healthy growth in nature. It derives its strengths from its emptiness, rootedness, and flexibility. When a wind blows, bamboo bends in exact proportion to the strength of the wind blowing it. Its rootedness allows it to yield without falling over, and its emptiness represents nonattachment in the moment to its goal of rapid directional growth. Hence it is “empty” in the sense of not trying to fight the direction it is being momentarily taken. We may resist and become frustrated when faced with obstacles while pursuing a goal. To emulate the virtue of bamboo would be to remain calm and unattached to momentary deviations from our course while maintaining a steady view of the big picture. As the wind subsides, bamboo springs up to immediately reassert its purpose and pursue its path. Exhibiting the virtue of benevolence, bamboo carries no grudge toward the wind that has temporarily waylaid its progress. It continues unencumbered in its journey toward heaven.
~ Nourishing Destiny, Lonny Jarrett