We have been taught to be influential, and also to be strong and powerful like the tall oak in the forest. We have to assert ourselves convincingly and even bend other people to our will. But Lao Tzu, of the TAO, shows us that the sapling, not the oak, prevails in a strong wind and storm because it follows the TAO; the WAY. The TAO shows us that true power comes from understanding the CONNECTION between unequal things, situations, and people. As time passes we become more rigid, like the oak, and disconnected from everything else.

The more we see the world as interconnected, the closer we come to the WAY. We gain power by following the TAO because we can harness the power of suppleness and weakness. We can re-create the WAY when we understand how the world works. When we divide up our lives we feel that different aspects are unrelated to one another, we restrict what we are capable of becoming. A weekend walk in the woods should not be divorced from office work. The TAO is everything through our daily interactions.

We are missing a crucial point of the TAO when we see ourselves and the world as separated and disconnected. To follow the TAO, we must sense how everything is interrelated and recognize that everything we do immediately impacts others, we will be more effective. Everything is INTERRELATED.

Strength and domination render us incapable of relating to others and the things around us. The instant we have differentiated ourselves from others we have lost the WAY. True influence is not found in overt strength or will. It comes from creating a world that feels so natural that no one questions it. Creating a world where everyone feels connected. This is how a Lao Tzu sage wields enormous influence.

Each of us has the potential to become a sage and therefore generate new worlds. CONNECT, INTERRELATE NOW.

Categories: Leadership PERSPECTIVES Philosophical Perspective

ron winnegrad

Ron Winnegrad has been a Perfumer and teacher for 46 years. As a perfumer, Ron has been able to express the world he sees through a rainbow of olfactive and emotive visions. As a teacher, Ron has helped others to see fragrance through his own multi sensorial lens.