Five excerpts from The Tao of Conducting

(book available Fall 2010)

I discovered Taoism about ten years ago when ... I read John Heider’s The Tao of Leadership, an adaptation of Lao Tzu’s poetic dissertation on leadership, Tao Te Ching (pronounced “Dow Day Ching”). It changed my life. I was pleased to come to understand that pure Taoism is not a religion, but a philosophy, and that Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Agnostics, Atheists, and everyone else can practice Taoism. Taoism is for everybody; it does not contradict religion. I became a dedicated student of Taoism and read about its practical applications in leadership and everyday activities, and I noticed remarkable results in my private life and my work as a conductor.

My favorite Taoist analogy is the comparison of our lives to a river. Tao is the river and our lives are journeys down that river from the source to the end. The general direction and final destination of our journey is out of our hands, but our fate en route is not decided. At times the water flows smoothly. At other times we enter rough patches, rapids, or encounter obstacles. Sometimes unexpected things happen in this river, and we have to make quick decisions. We cannot reverse the flow of this river. Swimming upstream is useless; we cannot fight against the river, and doing so would simply waste our energy, frustrate us, and ultimately make our tasks downriver more difficult. But we have some control over our course. We learn by trial and error to see problems ahead, and by working with the current, not against it, we can steer clear of such obstacles. By remaining calm and relaxed, freeing our bodies of tension, we can float better and use less energy. With experience (calm and patient study), we begin to see farther in advance when the water will become rougher or smoother, and though we cannot control the river, with practice and detachment we become more agile at navigating the river. We learn to let the river carry us, and thus have more control over our own destinies. We also must learn to love the river because it is our “way,” even if we don’t love every inch of the journey. It's a beautiful analogy, isn't it?

The beautiful thing about Taoism is that is applies to everyone. One could substitute the words "manager," "teacher," "parent," "council member," or any other leadership title where I've written "conductor" (and in similar ways change the references to music), and the text would be just as meaningful.

AVAILABLE SOON.