DIPLOMATIC EXCHANGE
HIGHBANK


A sudden lunge is made;
- and turned harmlessly away.

"You must have slipped;
- a good job I broke your fall!"

"Yes, thanks - I lost my balance;
- that'll teach me to go more steadily!"

The handshake is given, the lessons learned;
the incident forgiven, though not forgotten.


Both grow in stature.
The sage is a diplomat.


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This brief piece of dramatic action uses 'martial art' manoeuvres as a metaphor for seeking ways to defuse disputes or disagreements.
Such conflicts may be interpersonal, familial, or more general in scope, but all have potential for resolution by diplomatic measures.
A Taoist approach views the principal value of such interactions as learning opportunities, rather than mere trials of strength or skill.
The ultimate ideal is to exchange attempts to assert force or power for the superior, mutual benefits of a more balanced relationship.

Taoism aspires to harmonise understanding in relationships to the extent that the exertion of authority tends to become superfluous:
not by relinquishing or resigning power, but by restraining and redirecting it away from opposition and towards complementarity.
 
  A BALANCED VIEW