Life is a series of natural
and spontaneous changes.
Don’t resist them
– that only creates sorrow.
Let reality be reality.
Let things flow naturally forward
in whatever way they like. 5
and spontaneous changes.
Don’t resist them
– that only creates sorrow.
Let reality be reality.
Let things flow naturally forward
in whatever way they like. 5
Flow with whatever is happening
and let your mind be free.
Stay
centered
by
accepting
whatever
you
are
doing.
This
is
the
ultimate. 1
Going
with
the
flow . . . .
Not
too
long
ago
I
was
standing
on
the
bank
of
a
stream
watching
the
water
slip
over
the
rocks.
The sound of the bubbling water
held my attention;
very soothing.
I decided to sit for a bit on the bank of the stream.
A wiggle here . . .
a wiggle there,
and I settled comfortably
in the Earthen chair.
Gazing at the stream,
the sound of water over rocks
soon enveloped me
like surround-sound.
My heartbeat,
pulsing.
Each in-breath;
connected me to the rhythm
of the stream.
Each out-breath;
detached me from anything
outside the shorelines of the stream.
In . . .
out . . .
in . . .
the cool air fills my lungs....
out . . .
I feel the warmth of air over my tongue . . .
the rhythmic breathing
slowed my thoughts to a trickle.
Water bubbling over rocks
became like lyrics;
go with the flow . . .
go with the flow.
My body loosened,
becoming as fluid
as a lazy SSSSsssss curve.
"Listen . . .
listen . . .
the rocks in the river
give the river her song."
The quieter you become
the more you can hear. 2
As I became One
with the meditative sounds
of the river song . . .
even the concept of time
spilled into the flow.
Until . . . .
A tiny speck of something . . .
just out of the corner of my eye . . .
this something is falling from the sky.
And in that instant of awareness
the connection with the water
was broken.
Squinting,
still mesmerized by the stream
it took a moment to focus.
High from the canopy of trees
a single leaf floats down.
Zig . . .
Zag . . .
Like a pendulum the leaf sways . . .
right. . .
left. . .
right . . .
left.
Turned up edges toasty brown and crisp,
the cupped belly of the leaf appears soft,
pliable
and vibrantly golden.
Like a feather,
the leaf gently glides
onto the surface of the water
where it's quickly scooped up
by the rhythm of the stream.
Watching the leaf takes me back
to summer adventures
and being scooped up
as I splashed into the current
on Michigan's Muskegon River.
Tubing with my kiddo's
or free floating
on the Mighty Muskegon
with my husband,
he looking for fish in hidden holes;
those deeper safe havens
for the big-one-that-got away.
Me,
I was in search of hidden treasures
that some ancient ancestor
may have left behind.
Free-floating,
for me, was always the best . . .
just like that golden leaf,
gliding over the ripples,
slipping over rocks,
leaning into
and away from
the different elevations
and formations . . .
going with the flow. . .
There were times when,
in those uncharted waters,
I got hung up on something . . .
or bounced into an unforeseen boulder . . .
OUCH!!!
It rocked me momentarily . . .
but usually the current
and the depth of the water
spit me back out
into the flow again.
Now,
watching that golden leaf float,
dodge,
hang-up,
up-end
and then right itself
in the Mainstream
reminds me
of the Great Current
that runs through my life.
Funny,
as a kid,
I loved mucking around
in the slick-bottom shallows of a stream or a lake.
All the neat stuff lived there;
tadpoles in the spring . . .
full-bodied frogs hidden
in a flotilla of summertime pond scum,
soft shelled pancake turtles
dug deep in the muddy shelf bottom
gave themselves away
by a strand of air-bubbles
surfacing to the top of the water.
The shallows were always an adventure.
I almost lost that edge of curiosity
by becoming comfortable.
But thank goodness,
some next adventure would nudge me;
a new job,
a business venture,
"educational" pursuits
that took me all over the country
as well as the West Indies.
Clearly, it seems,
I'm to stay in the Current of the Mainstream . . .
not attaching too long to any mirage,
those "things" that appear
to give the mainstream (small "m") security.
Suddenly an action in the stream takes me out of my headiness.
The golden leaf gets tossed out of the current and into the shallows.
It's hung-up on something.
I can't see what's got the leaf in its grip . . .
but it's being held in place.
My urge is to go over and release it.
But I'm "nudged" to simply watch.
The leaf is lodged on something . . .
it's almost motionless.
Perhaps it's reached its final destination.
Perhaps it will become part of That-Which-Gives-Back.
Long ago I was taught
that those still murky scum-waters
was a place where other organisms
would break down whatever collects there,
transforming the "prisoner" into a new cycle . . .
food, shelter for others living in the waters.
"There's a reason for everything,"
my mom always says.
Oh . . .
suddenly there's more action . . .
nothing stays the same in the current of this stream.
A twig shoots out of the current.
It's moving toward the shallows,
taking the same path as the leaf . . .
an upside down V of water
makes a wake behind the twig.
DOINK!!
Like the domino effect the twig bumps into the leaf.
The golden leaf bobs back and forth in the water.
On the down-bob the leaf is suddenly released
from the grip of the unknown.
Now the twig is hooked up on the unknown.
A small piece of bark flakes off the twig
and hits the leaf . . .
pushing the leaf toward the current
where it begins to swirl
in a slow spinning motion.
As it reaches the outer edge of the current . . .
the leaf twirls around like a tilt-a-whirl . . .
faster until the momentum
carries it into the Mainstream
where it's scooped up
into the Pulsating Water.
I watched until the leaf was out of sight . . .
up and over another boulder
and then around the bend of the Stream's Plan.
Experiencing the emotions that flow,
ripple and churn with this human event called cancer
is very much like what I watched with the golden leaf.
I'm riding the rapids of possibilities.
Sometimes I sit in what appears to be stagnant waters,
yet these very waters slow me down
to take a breath and regroup.
It is here in the shallows
that I confront the illusions,
the very stuff that narrows my vision
and separates me from the Current of Life.
The neat thing about that leaf
is that something came along and freed it
from the illusive grip.
And like the leaf,
I'm free
as soon as I let loose
of the idea
that anything can separate me
from my Source.
In the autumn of my life . . .
experiencing this very human event,
I realize that it doesn't matter
whether the experience
is a lazy ribbon ripple
or a white water boil;
I just have to be willing
to flow with the Current
that's movin' through me. 3
I accept chaos.
I am not sure whether it accepts me. 4
and let your mind be free.
Stay
centered
by
accepting
whatever
you
are
doing.
This
is
the
ultimate. 1
Going
with
the
flow . . . .
Not
too
long
ago
I
was
standing
on
the
bank
of
a
stream
watching
the
water
slip
over
the
rocks.
The sound of the bubbling water
held my attention;
very soothing.
I decided to sit for a bit on the bank of the stream.
A wiggle here . . .
a wiggle there,
and I settled comfortably
in the Earthen chair.
Gazing at the stream,
the sound of water over rocks
soon enveloped me
like surround-sound.
My heartbeat,
pulsing.
Each in-breath;
connected me to the rhythm
of the stream.
Each out-breath;
detached me from anything
outside the shorelines of the stream.
In . . .
out . . .
in . . .
the cool air fills my lungs....
out . . .
I feel the warmth of air over my tongue . . .
the rhythmic breathing
slowed my thoughts to a trickle.
Water bubbling over rocks
became like lyrics;
go with the flow . . .
go with the flow.
My body loosened,
becoming as fluid
as a lazy SSSSsssss curve.
"Listen . . .
listen . . .
the rocks in the river
give the river her song."
The quieter you become
the more you can hear. 2
As I became One
with the meditative sounds
of the river song . . .
even the concept of time
spilled into the flow.
Until . . . .
A tiny speck of something . . .
just out of the corner of my eye . . .
this something is falling from the sky.
And in that instant of awareness
the connection with the water
was broken.
Squinting,
still mesmerized by the stream
it took a moment to focus.
High from the canopy of trees
a single leaf floats down.
Zig . . .
Zag . . .
Like a pendulum the leaf sways . . .
right. . .
left. . .
right . . .
left.
Turned up edges toasty brown and crisp,
the cupped belly of the leaf appears soft,
pliable
and vibrantly golden.
Like a feather,
the leaf gently glides
onto the surface of the water
where it's quickly scooped up
by the rhythm of the stream.
Watching the leaf takes me back
to summer adventures
and being scooped up
as I splashed into the current
on Michigan's Muskegon River.
Tubing with my kiddo's
or free floating
on the Mighty Muskegon
with my husband,
he looking for fish in hidden holes;
those deeper safe havens
for the big-one-that-got away.
Me,
I was in search of hidden treasures
that some ancient ancestor
may have left behind.
Free-floating,
for me, was always the best . . .
just like that golden leaf,
gliding over the ripples,
slipping over rocks,
leaning into
and away from
the different elevations
and formations . . .
going with the flow. . .
There were times when,
in those uncharted waters,
I got hung up on something . . .
or bounced into an unforeseen boulder . . .
OUCH!!!
It rocked me momentarily . . .
but usually the current
and the depth of the water
spit me back out
into the flow again.
Now,
watching that golden leaf float,
dodge,
hang-up,
up-end
and then right itself
in the Mainstream
reminds me
of the Great Current
that runs through my life.
Funny,
as a kid,
I loved mucking around
in the slick-bottom shallows of a stream or a lake.
All the neat stuff lived there;
tadpoles in the spring . . .
full-bodied frogs hidden
in a flotilla of summertime pond scum,
soft shelled pancake turtles
dug deep in the muddy shelf bottom
gave themselves away
by a strand of air-bubbles
surfacing to the top of the water.
The shallows were always an adventure.
I almost lost that edge of curiosity
by becoming comfortable.
But thank goodness,
some next adventure would nudge me;
a new job,
a business venture,
"educational" pursuits
that took me all over the country
as well as the West Indies.
Clearly, it seems,
I'm to stay in the Current of the Mainstream . . .
not attaching too long to any mirage,
those "things" that appear
to give the mainstream (small "m") security.
Suddenly an action in the stream takes me out of my headiness.
The golden leaf gets tossed out of the current and into the shallows.
It's hung-up on something.
I can't see what's got the leaf in its grip . . .
but it's being held in place.
My urge is to go over and release it.
But I'm "nudged" to simply watch.
The leaf is lodged on something . . .
it's almost motionless.
Perhaps it's reached its final destination.
Perhaps it will become part of That-Which-Gives-Back.
Long ago I was taught
that those still murky scum-waters
was a place where other organisms
would break down whatever collects there,
transforming the "prisoner" into a new cycle . . .
food, shelter for others living in the waters.
"There's a reason for everything,"
my mom always says.
Oh . . .
suddenly there's more action . . .
nothing stays the same in the current of this stream.
A twig shoots out of the current.
It's moving toward the shallows,
taking the same path as the leaf . . .
an upside down V of water
makes a wake behind the twig.
DOINK!!
Like the domino effect the twig bumps into the leaf.
The golden leaf bobs back and forth in the water.
On the down-bob the leaf is suddenly released
from the grip of the unknown.
Now the twig is hooked up on the unknown.
A small piece of bark flakes off the twig
and hits the leaf . . .
pushing the leaf toward the current
where it begins to swirl
in a slow spinning motion.
As it reaches the outer edge of the current . . .
the leaf twirls around like a tilt-a-whirl . . .
faster until the momentum
carries it into the Mainstream
where it's scooped up
into the Pulsating Water.
I watched until the leaf was out of sight . . .
up and over another boulder
and then around the bend of the Stream's Plan.
Experiencing the emotions that flow,
ripple and churn with this human event called cancer
is very much like what I watched with the golden leaf.
I'm riding the rapids of possibilities.
Sometimes I sit in what appears to be stagnant waters,
yet these very waters slow me down
to take a breath and regroup.
It is here in the shallows
that I confront the illusions,
the very stuff that narrows my vision
and separates me from the Current of Life.
The neat thing about that leaf
is that something came along and freed it
from the illusive grip.
And like the leaf,
I'm free
as soon as I let loose
of the idea
that anything can separate me
from my Source.
In the autumn of my life . . .
experiencing this very human event,
I realize that it doesn't matter
whether the experience
is a lazy ribbon ripple
or a white water boil;
I just have to be willing
to flow with the Current
that's movin' through me. 3
I accept chaos.
I am not sure whether it accepts me. 4
You can’t do what you want
'till you know what you’re doing;
and you can’t know what you’re doing
till you know who you are . . .
Going with the flow
is not about bowing to peer pressure,
pleasing others by conforming,
or to not go against the grain at times.
There is no wholeness,
inner peace, contentment or integrity
in a life where ‘everything and anything goes’
and taking the easy way out by conforming to the majority.
The major casualty of conformity is one’s identity
- where integrity and self-respect are shattered.
While going against the grain and standing up for oneself
often has unpleasant consequences;
they are far less serious in scope and damage than a shattered self.
Going with the flow is about “rolling with the punches”:
accepting change, accepting the patterns of life that swirl around us;
the cycles and tides and seasons, and people
- without getting angry, disillusioned or frustrated.
Going with the flow is simply to acknowledge the flow of life;
it is accepting that whatever happens
happens . . .
and then quietly,
go on your way . . .
living your truth.
Things will happen, not “might happen”, but will.
There are, and always will be,
things that we cannot control
that will affect every aspect of our lives,
and we must accept that,
or we will constantly be frustrated.
Sometimes we go through life
wanting the world
and other people to accommodate to us.
When they don't,
we get rigid and defensive,
thereby getting us in trouble
and making the situation
a lot worse for ourselves.
What you can’t deny, however,
is that pretty much everybody
who’s anybody in history
has had the ability to see their short life for what it is
- and decided to make it meaningful,
valuable,
to get the MOST out of it
--however success was defined for them.
No matter how much structure we create in our lives,
no matter how many good habits we build,
there will always be things that we cannot control
- and if we let them,
these things can be a huge source of anger,
frustration and stress.
Please meditate on this for awhile. 6
Be still and know that I am God . . . 7
If you want to shrink something,
You must first allow it to expand.
If you want to get rid of something,
You must first allow it to flourish.
If you want to take something,
You must first allow it to be given.
This is called the subtle perception
Of the way things are. 8
Flow with whatever is happening
and let your mind be free.
Stay
centered
by
accepting
whatever
you
are
doing.
This
is
the
ultimate. 9
May you have Light and Love in the flow of your life journey
'till you know what you’re doing;
and you can’t know what you’re doing
till you know who you are . . .
Going with the flow
is not about bowing to peer pressure,
pleasing others by conforming,
or to not go against the grain at times.
There is no wholeness,
inner peace, contentment or integrity
in a life where ‘everything and anything goes’
and taking the easy way out by conforming to the majority.
The major casualty of conformity is one’s identity
- where integrity and self-respect are shattered.
While going against the grain and standing up for oneself
often has unpleasant consequences;
they are far less serious in scope and damage than a shattered self.
Going with the flow is about “rolling with the punches”:
accepting change, accepting the patterns of life that swirl around us;
the cycles and tides and seasons, and people
- without getting angry, disillusioned or frustrated.
Going with the flow is simply to acknowledge the flow of life;
it is accepting that whatever happens
happens . . .
and then quietly,
go on your way . . .
living your truth.
Things will happen, not “might happen”, but will.
There are, and always will be,
things that we cannot control
that will affect every aspect of our lives,
and we must accept that,
or we will constantly be frustrated.
Sometimes we go through life
wanting the world
and other people to accommodate to us.
When they don't,
we get rigid and defensive,
thereby getting us in trouble
and making the situation
a lot worse for ourselves.
What you can’t deny, however,
is that pretty much everybody
who’s anybody in history
has had the ability to see their short life for what it is
- and decided to make it meaningful,
valuable,
to get the MOST out of it
--however success was defined for them.
No matter how much structure we create in our lives,
no matter how many good habits we build,
there will always be things that we cannot control
- and if we let them,
these things can be a huge source of anger,
frustration and stress.
Please meditate on this for awhile. 6
Be still and know that I am God . . . 7
If you want to shrink something,
You must first allow it to expand.
If you want to get rid of something,
You must first allow it to flourish.
If you want to take something,
You must first allow it to be given.
This is called the subtle perception
Of the way things are. 8
Flow with whatever is happening
and let your mind be free.
Stay
centered
by
accepting
whatever
you
are
doing.
This
is
the
ultimate. 9
May you have Light and Love in the flow of your life journey
Sources:
[1] ~Chuang Tzu
[2] -Baba Ram Dass-
[3] -The Rhythm of Life ~Julie Johnson
[4] ~Bob Dylan
[5] ~Lao-Tzu
[6] ~Klaas Tuinman
[7] Psalm 46:10
[8] ~Tao Te Ching
[9] ~Chuang Tzu
Media: Only Our River Run Free (Irish)
Contributed by Fr. Klaas
Layout Design and Presentation Crafted by KT+
[1] ~Chuang Tzu
[2] -Baba Ram Dass-
[3] -The Rhythm of Life ~Julie Johnson
[4] ~Bob Dylan
[5] ~Lao-Tzu
[6] ~Klaas Tuinman
[7] Psalm 46:10
[8] ~Tao Te Ching
[9] ~Chuang Tzu
Media: Only Our River Run Free (Irish)
Contributed by Fr. Klaas
Layout Design and Presentation Crafted by KT+
For prayer requests and more, visit our sister site Stella Maris,
- a place where truth and beauty dwells: or write for information.
- a place where truth and beauty dwells: or write for information.
To submit comments, requests or materials,
contact me at: outreach@dawncoveabbey.org
contact me at: outreach@dawncoveabbey.org
I gladly welcome all article, haiku, humour and poem contributions
For empowerment workshops and seminars see: http://www.dawncoveabbey.org/healing-circle
For empowerment workshops and seminars see: http://www.dawncoveabbey.org/healing-circle
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