“What makes a river so restful to people is that it doesn’t have any doubt – it is sure to get where it is going, and it doesn’t want to go anywhere else.” – Hal Boyle
One of the oldest, most revered spiritual texts in the world is the Tao Te Ching, which speaks of the Way of life, the Tao. According to the tradition, life always unfolds and reveals itself exactly as it should. The secret to managing a successful life is letting go of our preconceived notions and going with this flow. No element more greatly embodies this lesson than water.
Whether by the changing of tides, the cascade of a steam, or the torrent of a river, water effortlessly finds its way through whichever course it is offered. Its softness is only rivaled by the breeze, yet it can also be one of the harshest forces on the planet. However it moves, it always remains in the flow, most assuredly going exactly where it needs to go in exactly the right time.
Regardless of our individual spiritual traditions, each of us can think of a time in our lives when the wisdom of the flow revealed itself to us. Each of us has experienced at least a moment when we forgot about ourselves and our worries, and life seemed to unfold perfectly. If we are open to it, we can live in that flow, being soft when we need to be, harsh when we are forced, and with no doubt that we are exactly where we are supposed to be and going exactly where we are supposed to go.
