A Bend In The River: Knee Points On The Bladder Meridian

The nature of the Bladder meridian trajectory is to move like a river. It splits, and comes back together again. It plummets straight down like a waterfall, and then it jogs off to the side, only to return again to median again, again and again (the Kidney meridian by contrast goes upward and then curls down and in on itself, then goes upward and again curls down and in on itself, and again, like the waves rising and falling from an ocean).

A river will meander and curve, flowing around obstacles, as it is headed for the ocean. It doesn’t stop to fight with the mountain in its path, or try to keep going in a straight line. It says, “Oh, there’s a mountain there.” Then it just moves off to the side… and then it comes back.

As an example of this, after running straight down the median line on the back of the thigh, the Bladder meridian jogs off to the side just above the knee for BL 38/52 and BL 39/53, before returning to the median line at the back of the knee for BL 40/54.

This is relevant to Water’s capacity to be indirect or even evasive in pursuit of goals; a straight line is not always the shortest distance between two points. Water is known for its ability to take an indirect pathway, as well as an ability to hold in reserve information that might be more advantageously kept hidden. The Bladder official in particular has an affinity for holding a great deal inside in silence, and then letting it out perhaps very intensely at a chosen moment. This is embodied by the Bladder on a physical level in its capacity for managing urinary continence and timely release of urine.
Taken to an extreme, the Bladder’s capacity for continence can become secretiveness, evasiveness or withholding. Without this capacity to hold something inside until the opportune moment, the Bladder can be prone to blurting, babbling, and indiscretions. Balance is needed in the Bladder’s ability to hold back and keep something unshared for a period of time, and then divulge it when more advantageous circumstances allow.

Bladder BL 38/52 and BL 39/53 and BL 40/54 are knee points. Flexibility in the knees is very important. We sidestep sometimes, and avoid coming out with direct statements. We can’t be too rigid about truth and timing; honesty demands disclosure, but when? Do we need to be blunt about it, bringing everything right out into broad daylight, or can we hint about things, or gently allow them to become known without shining a searchlight directly upon them? Maybe sometimes we have to keep silent about things, or have to say merely, hmmm…. Maybe we cannot always pursue our goals straightforwardly, or speak openly in the moment. Perhaps we must be flexible, and move as the river moves, bending like a knee, and then straightening again. The way of Water is to be circumspect at times, adapting to the terrain, while always moving towards the ocean’s ultimate equilibrium.

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