Division
Problems cannot be
Resolved at once.
Slowly untie knots
Divide to conquer.
In order to solve problems, it is helpful to first understand whether they are puzzle, obstacle, or entanglement. A puzzle need only be analyzed carefully: It is like unraveling a ball of yarn and requires patience more than anything else. An obstacle must be overcome. We must use force and perseverance to either destroy or move away from what is blocking us. An entanglement mires us in a maze of limitations: This most dangerous of situations requires that we use all our resources to extricate ourselves as quickly as possible.
No matter what the problem, however, it is important not to take the thing on while. Break it down into smaller, more easily handled components. More problematic situations are combinations of puzzles, obstacles, and entanglements. By fracturing them into these more basic elements, they can be managed easily. Even the greatest of difficulties can be resolved when they are slowly reduced. Then the knots of life are untied as easily as if we had a magic charm.
It’s not about my politics
Something happened way too quick
A bunch of men who played it sick
They divide, conquer
It’s all here before your eyes
Safety is a big disguise
That hides among the other lies
They divide, conquer
Well I expect I won’t be heard
Because my silence is assured
Never a discouraging word
They divide and conquer
– Husker Du, Divide and Conquer
When you have a big problem to solve, sometimes it is difficult to break it into smaller pieces. One part of the puzzle tangles with another, and there are lots of pieces to consider. As an engineer, I was trained to divide problems into their pieces. In math, I was trained to look for common factors in a problem that could be divided out.
But in our everyday life, who is there to train us? Sometimes parents teach us to be good problem solvers, sometimes we can learn from how they solved their problems. But there are always situations you didn’t expect, things that you never dreamed could happen to you, and they do. Solving those problems takes time and effort, and drains us emotionally and physically.
Right now in our nation, there are huge problems, created by people who divide us as a nation so that we fight each other instead of seeing we are all being taken for a ride. How do we reunite to reclaim the government for everyone, instead of for the rich and powerful? Especially when they have convinced so many that they are the ones with the answers, that those who tell them differently are the enemy. We are not the enemy, we are the ones with our eyes open who see where the path we are on leads.
Ancient cultures warn us to be wary of the coyote trickster. Tao warns us to beware of those who offer us false promises.
When the great Tao is abandoned,
charity and righteousness appear.
When intellectualism arises,
hypocrisy is close behind.
When there is strife in the family unit,
people talk about ‘brotherly love’.
When the country falls into chaos,
politicians talk about ‘patriotism’.
– Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching, 18
We are in chaos, and most people don’t even know it. We are in crisis, and most refuse to see. Let those who can see, be together. We are strong enough to solve this puzzle, untangle these knots, and overcome these obstacles. Divide, and conquer. Let’s all take up our part of the puzzle, and remember the final piece is in our own pocket.