I want to talk about another view of flow.  I’m a planner—granted I don’t always follow through on the plan, but I like to know what’s coming.  Yes, I even might get swayed at the last minute and let my plan fall apart.  There are some days I’m too much like the birch and others I’m too much like the oak.  In both, I’m not fully myself.  We have to allow for the middle, the flexibility and the stick-to-it-ness of our dream. The clarity of where and what but allowing the how.  When we try to force things that aren’t in their time we go against the flow of the seasons, the natural course of what is meant to happen.  There is a time for production and a time to learn, a time to understand and a time to apply.  If we make our own idea of what’s meant to be be the only way, then we suggest that we know better than the universe.  That’s a lot of pressure—and more often than not it doesn’t work.

We understand in nature that there is a time for everything.  A time for the ground to be worked, a time to plant, a time to let life grow, a time to reap the harvest, and a time to let it rest.  And it goes like this, endlessly.  We like to forget we are part of that cycle.  My friends, we are part of the natural Earth as much as any other living thing—these cycles apply to us as well.  We have so many cycles within us and none of our daily operations support that.  If we spent more time “in season,” we’d have a lot more sense.  George Santayana says, “To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.”  How we move forward is by allowing what is to be.  We don’t take our eyes off the goal but we don’t lose site of where we are.

This isn’t to say we have no control of the direction or the season we are in.  It’s all about how and when we plant the seeds.  We can’t compare our tilled dirt to someone’s tree they planted years ago.  Also, if I plant strawberries, I can’t be mad that someone else planted corn, or that they planted 30 plants and I planted 5.  One thing I’m struggling with is accepting that there were some seeds I didn’t mean to plant and now that’s what’s coming up in my life.  I can’t change it, but I can be more aware of what I’m planting next and I can also change how I manage what has grown moving forward.  I love the other example that we get to pick the car and the route, but we don’t force it to go straight when the road curves.  Again, if we understand that, then we need to understand it applies to our lives as well—there are just some things we have to go with and understanding that flow is about going with it, but it’s also about the work you’ve done to get to that point.  You will only see the results of what you’ve put in. 

Really this life is about awareness and acceptance.  Being conscious of your actions and choices, and above all, being clear on your intention and direction.  You may not have as much say in how you get there as you’d like, but if you trust enough, you will understand the detours and the lessons and you will appreciate the wins and the guidance along the path—you’ll even learn to appreciate those detours.  I’m the first to admit my frustration when things don’t go my way.  There is a part of me that feels like a failure if I can’t make it happen.  It gets tiring the more things don’t come to pass, especially those you truly wanted.  But sometimes it’s a matter of understanding what your path means, sometimes it’s a matter of getting on a new path, and sometimes it’s a matter of waiting for the right moment to move forward.  You can’t stop the waves but you can learn to surf.  Find what brings you joy, and do that.