Going With the Flow
When you go with the gentle flow of the stream, your life flows easily and you get what you want through almost no direct action other than simple tasks and good luck. But when you start paddling upstream, everything seems to be a struggle. But I’ve come to realize that almost nothing we all want is upstream. And even when we do achieve one of those upstream goals, it will not be as we expected and we will want more. But society measures us for how far we can go upstream. Every trophy or plaque we have on our wall demonstrates a time when we went upstream. It is simply a diversion of who we are supposed to be. Going upstream may get you some respect in the real world, but it is just another distraction from you going downstream to your purpose. Even if the downstream path has some hard work, it will not feel as such, but feel like joyful self-expression. Going downstream is simply being yourself. And it is much more authentic to be yourself than to be someone else.
It may not be easier to be yourself, but it is defintely more joyful. When you allow yourself to be, it opens up parts of you that can only exist when you are allowing this phenomenon to happen. It is like tapping into a higher part of yourself, or as the new age people call it, your Higher Self. Creative name, no? It is almost as if you have wisdom you cannot possibly fathom ever learning in the real world, but it is inside of you somewhere and moving downstream only allows you to uncover more of it and use it to greater express yourself fully. It is almost as if you are a conduit passing messages from a spiritual realm. Many creative people call this state flow. And I think they’re onto something. Flowing is much less tiring than paddlling. When you flow, you are simply along for the ride and any creativitybecomes effortless. But when you are paddling upstream, you need to fight for everything you have and it is often most unpleasant. This is why, most times, I choose to go downstream.
I often wondered how so many people could have created so many beautiful things in the world. Be it writing or artwork, I’ll be willing to bet that most of these people were in the flow state when they created their masterpieces. But they learned to harness the flow and use it to their advantage on a regular basis as to create many works of art that we still admire today. All we need to do to harness this amazing ability is to do the same. We need to stop paddling upstream and start harnessing downstream. We just need to stop paddling and allow ourselves to go on our life’s path. Maybe some of us are stuck behind a rock and we need help getting around it. And some of us are attached to the praise we get for going upstream. But all of that pales in comparison to truly following our life’s path, completely surrendering ourselves to it. We need to just allow it into our lives. It is definitely somewhere inside of us and we just need to find it.
Whatever brings you the most joy, you must do. And if you cannot fathom a way to earn a living doing so, just leave that up to the universe. If there is a will, there is a way. Why not make the most of our time here by exploring our deepest passions and immersing ourselves in the most abundant state of self-expression known to man? And this may seem difficult from the outside, but on the inside looking out, it is such a joy to create that it does not even feel like the drudgery of work, but more like the joy of play. And if a good percentage of the world can get into this state of joyous creation, just imagine how amazing we could make this world. All it takes is the belief that is is possible. Good luck.