The Hidden Treasure Of Crises
When we admit we are going through a ‘crisis’ we are usually accompanied by lamentation. But every crisis is nothing more than a transition to a new place, and the good news is that it can be much better.
In today’s rapidly changing world, we often feel that the way we were used to handling ourselves has stopped working. In addition, there are vital moments in which we must face that our ideas, values and behaviors are no longer useful.
It is in these moments that we speak of being going through a crisis : an interval during which what we thought we knew seems to have been transformed into ignorance and we have not yet found new ways or new ideas. How to face this transition process?
The legend of Huangdi, the emperor
Legend has it that the greatest emperor in the entire history of China was Huangdi, known as the Yellow Emperor.
Huangdi was born at a time when China was still a mosaic of peoples and tribes scattered throughout the land. The old women said that Huangdi had been conceived while his mother was still a virgin, impregnated by lightning.
Little Huangdi grew up very quickly, and learned to walk, speak, ride a horse, and use the sword and spear with amazing ease and great dexterity. But, in addition, the boy had other gifts, since it seemed that he could converse with the spirits of nature.
Black bear
One day it happened that the chief of the tribe died in a hunt. Since it was not clear who should take his place, many pointed to it being Huangdi, upholding his divine origin. The shaman of the tribe, who coveted the vacant position for himself, argued that Huangdi had not undergone the initiation ceremony and was therefore still a child. But Huangdi was already thirteen years old and the tribal elders demanded that he be initiated.
The shaman, who was in charge of reading in the sacred smoke which initiation test each young man had to go through, lit the ritual embers and, although he did not see the symbols clearly, proclaimed in a grave voice what he knew would put an end to Huangdi’s destiny: “The black bear!” .
Everyone in the tribe was horrified at the shaman’s announcement, for they knew there was no animal more fearsome and powerful than this, and they were sure that a boy Huangdi’s age could never defeat a black bear in combat. However, the shaman’s word was final, so young Huangdi was sent into the woods with the order not to return until he had proof of his confrontation with the bear.
Huangdi left and, for several days, no one heard from him. Many in the tribe already considered him dead, while others believed that he would surely have fled. Finally, at sunset on the fourth day, the figure of a bear appeared on the horizon. The villagers feared for their lives, but when the figure got even closer, they could see, to their surprise, how, perched on the bear, Huangdi was going.
Upon reaching the village, the young man descended from the animal and stroked its enormous head before the incredulous looks of all and the displeased gesture of the shaman. It was clear that Huangdi had passed the initiation test, so he took the place of chief of the tribe and received the name of Lord of the Bears, a title that he would retain until the day when, many years later, he would become emperor of all China.
A stage of transition
A crisis is nothing more than a moment of change, a time when old structures fall and new ones must take their place. But it usually happens that, between one thing and another, there is a time of uncertainty, a moment in which it seems that we are at a standstill: a time in which the old is no longer; and in which the new is not yet; as in Huangdi’s story, in which one leader dies and the next cannot yet take his place.
It may even seem at times that we are facing too great a challenge, faced with an invincible monster that threatens to devour us.
Allying with uncertainty
But this is where Huangdi’s story can help us, as it reminds us that sometimes battles are not won by opposing something but by learning to live with it, domesticate it, turning the enemy into a friend. If Huangdi had just tried to kill the bear, he would most likely have ended up dying or running away, as many in the tribe believed.
It is not about overcoming the crisis, because that leaves us powerless in the face of something that is much bigger than ourselves. Rather, it is about finding a way to “get on her back”, to make her our ally, to learn what she has to teach us. If we can do it, we will become, like Huangdi, much wiser and more powerful.
