Live into Joy by Flowing Like Water

A couple of years ago now, I was attending a 4-day virtual Conference that required 6+ hours a day in front of a screen. Now, helpfully, all the sessions were being recorded, which did mean that if you really needed to miss something, you could always watch the video afterwards. And in fact, they encouraged it. They were repeatedly saying:

Don’t feel like you have to take all this in at once. Take breaks. Go for a walk. The recording will be there.

But I am a classic over-achiever, and my general thought on the matter was: Well, I won’t be any more or less busy at some later date. So as much as is possible, I want to take these sessions in as they come – which I pulled off for the first 2 days.  

But by the 3rd day, I had a choice to make. I could not both get my necessary work done for the week, and attend the conference. Naturally, given my temperament, my first inclination was, “Work harder, longer, more! Burn the candle. Stay up late. Push yourself.”

 But then I went into my prayer and meditation time for the day. And as I sat in that space of connection, both of my possibilities out in front of me, all of a sudden, the word, “Acceptance,” came to mind, and suddenly, I knew what path I was going to take. I went from feeling like I needed to do it all to being able to accept that I would be watching the videos for the conference a few days after the fact.

I very quickly felt at peace that I didn’t have to live in the busy-ness of it all.

And so, maybe a question for us today is

How do we go from feeling conflicted, busy, bothered, worried – whatever it is – to being able to feel peaceful and able to enjoy our days?

Perhaps we can begin by considering the benefits of water:

• Water takes the shape of its container. 

And we all know this about water, right? We know if we put it in a cup, it takes the shape of the cup. And if we pour it into a bowl, then it takes the shape of the bowl. And so on. It’s flexible and malleable. 

And yet! Flowing water is what also created the Grand Canyon. Flowing water, over time, can take a rigid rock and make it smooth.

The Tao te Ching says:

Nothing is better than water for overcoming the hard and the rigid. 

And so that being the case, the question is:

Can we become like water in matters of the mind? 

The mind is rigid:

• How should I live? 

• How do I believe others should live? 

How many shoulds are we all trying to live by?

The sages of yore tell us that seeing our world in categories creates this feeling of being stuck. We’re stuck in our ideas and in our opinions of how things are supposed to be. And instead, of living this way, they invite us into a more flexible way of being, one where we are able to flow around obstacles in the same way that water is known to flow around obstacles.

• Water adapts well in times of change.

And this becomes incredibly important because our universe is one that is experiencing never-ending change. Water teaches us something about resilience in the face of change. Not only can it take other forms. It can also change states. It adapts, becoming ice when it gets cold and condensing as it gets hot. It adjusts over time to accomodate the moment, which is important because change is inevitable.

If this sounds good to us, our work is to:

• Become like water.

Two questions, then, for our pondering?

• Are there any areas in life right now that are leaving me feeling conflicted, frustrated, or worried?

• What would it look like to flow like water in this area of our lives?