By Heather McCauley
I don’t know anyone who isn’t currently facing their own difficulties in some way or another. Whether our struggles are emotional, financial, spiritual, job-related or family-related, it seems that NOW is a very difficult time in all our lives. We’ve heard the analogy before that life is like a river and we should ‘go with the flow’. The truth is that each of our rivers flow differently; some have a graceful flow that allows you to take in the scenery. Others are rushing rapids, where all of our attention is wholly focused on surviving. Still others find themselves spilled over a waterfall with no sense of up or down, let alone which way the river is supposed to be flowing. Perhaps the most trying scenario is when our river seems to be flowing in the opposite direction. This is when we need our boat and oars the most.
When life seems to be flowing against us, we will need to be masters of our tools. Our boat (vessel) is nothing more than the culmination of our thoughts, beliefs and our attitude. Our oars (paddles) are simply the choices and connections we make. If we realize that we cannot be separated from our tools and that we can always make them work for us, the difficult times will be less difficult. When it seems like we are experiencing the most resistance – that is the time when we can make the most progress in our lives. Just drop our oars in the water and row with all our might. The choices we make now could end up turning us completely around, but isn’t that what we are striving for? To be ‘in the flow’ once again?
Sometimes in life, it is necessary to go with the flow. Sometimes, we need to create our own flow out of the resistance that life gives us. We can’t change the flow of the river but we can change the direction of our boat.
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