How often do we get so involved with everyday living that we stop going with the flow of life? Or, how often do we have the option to make our lives more peaceful and fulfilling by surrendering to the flow?
I live in a mobile home park against the levee of a fast-flowing river. Over the years, I have seen its force. It has torn out the trees along the bank. It rises or subsides against the bank as the snow from the western side of the Rockies melts or the summer rains stop. One thing I am sure of is that nothing can stop the river’s flow.
Realizing the force of the river near me made me think deeply about an article I had read in Spirituality & Health Magazine, “Letting Life Flow,” by Carol Orsborn, Ph.D. I’d like to share some of her lessons.
Carol learned through watching the river and understanding how to let life flow like a river.
Lesson 1: Limitation Creates Depth. Limitation is not the antithesis of flow, but the very means of deepening the channel through which Spirit flows.
Lesson 2: You Can’t Make Flow Happen. It took nearly more humility than I could muster to realize that flow is not about demanding answers, peace, or meaning. It’s not something you ‘get or ‘make’ but something you allow.
Lesson 3: The Present Moment is Ageless. I was learning to embrace my limitations rather than resist them and to drop my agendas…. Now is ageless and timeless …
Lesson 4: Forgive Reality for What It Can’t Help Being. …if we allow ourselves to define ourselves by the unfinished business of the past and anxiety about the future, we do not flow. We struggle…. Forgive reality and get on with it.
Lesson 5: Flow is Unconditional. … in the end, the river showed me that what I was seeking all along had been simply to tell the truth about who I am at this stage of my life, knowing that whatever is going on with me, I am beloved — unconditionally.
After reading the article, I will never think or feel the same about the river by my home. What lessons are hidden in my river?
I made a conscious decision to slow down and stop during my walks along the levee to connect with Spirit. Someone left a bench on the levee, obviously understanding the need to enjoy the river more fully. I am stopping there every day on my walk to enjoy the swift-moving river, stopping not just for its beauty but to listen to what Spirit may be sharing with me through the river. I am consciously deciding the importance of going with the flow of life.