I’ve had some questions about the tag line in the header portion of the website…’The Wise Bamboo Bends With The Wind’.
During the Korean war I was in Japan for 3 years and that’s where I got that saying. The story that was told to me was, there was a large typhoon coming and the people working in the fields ran for cover. Some ran into the forest with the large Oak trees for shelter and some ran into the forest of bamboo trees. After the typhoon had blown through, they found that the people who ran to the Oak trees had mostly all been killed as the trees were uprooted or cracked. The people in the bamboo grove were all saved as they had tied themselves to the large bamboo trees, the trees had bent with the wind and when the typhoon had left, they became upright again!
I have used that phrase throughout my own life and found it to be a fine guiding light.
Just for the heck of it, I googled it and this is what I got…..
The phrase “the wise bamboo bends with the wind” (often part of a proverb comparing bamboo to a rigid oak tree) means that true strength comes from resilience and adaptability, not stubborn resistance. By bending, you yield to life’s challenges without breaking, allowing you to bounce back once the storm passes.
There is another phrase that I have followed religiously, from my father, a very wise man, that he told me when I was a very young boy, in the 1930s. I’ve never forgotten it. He said, “You never learn anything while your talking”. How true that is.
This is what AI says about that phrase:
AI Overview
You never learn anything while your talking.
The exact phrasing of this wisdom has been attributed to several notable figures across different disciplines:
Broadcasting & Interviews: Legendary interviewer Larry King lived by the rule: “My first rule of conversation is this: I never learn a thing while I’m talking.”
Politics & Leadership: President Lyndon B. Johnson famously kept a similar maxim framed in his office: “You aren’t learning anything when you’re talking.”
Sports & Motivation: College football coach Lou Holtz adapted the philosophy: “I never learn anything talking. I only learn things when I ask questions.”
While the sentiment is widely cited to prioritize listening, the online Quora community points out an interesting caveat. Many note that verbalizing, teaching, or explaining concepts can actually be powerful tools for revealing gaps in your own knowledge and cementing new ideas.
Ultimately, the best approach is a balance: listen to absorb fresh information, and ask questions to spark deeper dialogue.
Now you know the rest of the story!
