Go With the Flow

Go With the Flow

by Mary Mageau

As we live through the many events and changes that make up our different lives, we might compare this experience to the act of navigating a great winding river. At the river's centre its current flows powerfully, surging ahead and carrying all things along in its forward motion. At the fringes small eddies often swirl around into enclosed spaces of turbulence that go nowhere. The river may also branch out to form streams that flow onward by either taking an entirely new direction or leading to a dead end. Many of us live our lives by struggling against the current. We can expend so much energy as we work to shape our lives into unfolding the way we think our lives should be. And yet there are others who choose to move ahead more in tune with life's flow, believing that its broad currents, together with a carefully focused thought intention, will carry us where we need to be at all times.

Going with the flow never means that we don't know where we are going.
Instead it suggests that we might allow ourselves to experience other ways
of getting there. When we decide to go with the flow we remain open to
choosing or changing a destination by clinging more to the essence of our
goal, rather than to its particulars. Perhaps the decision to modify our
plans also becomes an important part of the process. Going with the flow
makes us aware of a greater energy than ourselves and allows us to open up
to it - rather than work against it. Perhaps we fear going with the flow
because we don't trust that we will arrive safely at the journey's end that
we wish to experience. This attitude can make us cling to plans that aren't
functioning any more. We could hang on doggedly to the same old routines, or
to jobs and relationships that are no longer serving us or bringing us the
fulfilment that we need. Going with the flow will force us to become
courageous, to strike out into new ventures and to abandon the idea that we
must always achieve everything through our own individual efforts.

When we open ourselves to being in the flow we open to all the possibilities
that exist beyond the grasp of our control. We learn to trust that the river
of life has a plan for us as we let it propel us forward. Why not give
ourselves permission to occasionally revise our maps - throw overboard all
the things we don't need any more - take a deep breath and plunge into the
main current? The flow is accessible to everyone because it moves through
and around us. It is just a matter of deciding whether we will flow along
with the ride or continue the journey as we drag our feet in resistance. Our
souls feel joyful when we go with the flow of the universe. All we have to
do is make mindful choices and then ride along with its currents.
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Making Transitions Gracefully
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* Don't feel that you have to cope with changing circumstances or the
stress of change on your own. Talk about what's going on with a friend, a
partner or write about it in a journal. Sharing your feelings brings a
sense of relief, while helping you find the strength to carry on.

* No matter how difficult change may be you will eventually adapt to these
circumstances. No matter how big the change is, over time it will weave
itself into the right places of your life.

* The Christmas holidays bring both benefits and burdens. We all enjoy
seeing family and friends again, giving and sharing gifts and catching up
with one another's lives. We also sometimes experience tensions, deadlines,
loneliness and all the extra work the holidays require. Give yourself some
quiet time-out to reconcile your feelings. This is a must do!

* Going with the flow can help you accept change instead of resisting it.
If you are flexible you will ride out a change without too much turbulence.

steep embankments
contain this mighty river
as I, a river bank
direct the currents
of my life's journey
(tanka by Mary Mageau)

Mary Mageau