Go With the Flow!

I was surprised when someone asked me this week what “Go With the Flow” means.  I guess it’s something I have always known as a feeling rather than a way of thinking, so for me the easiest way to explain it is to say it’s moving smoothly and freely through life like the flow in a river of water.

I really came to understand this concept the first time I went white water canyoning, which is like white water rafting but without the raft! You jump into a fast moving river in a life jacket and hope for the best! It looks like it’s going to be an easy ride but it’s a lot like life: you’re in for a bumpy ride.

It was remarkable how much I learnt about myself in those first few moments in the wild water. Straight up the river showed me just how much of a control freak I was (and am) in life. As soon as I came up for my first breath I wanted to gain control of my environment, to be the boss of this river. I tightened my body, determined to stay upright and head face forward as I went over the rapids. Pummelled by the power of the breaking water and the strength of the current, I struggled to stay in charge, uncomfortable being so out of my comfort zone. I couldn’t let the river get the better of me. I had an overwhelming fear of hitting every sharp protruding rock in my path or of being slammed into the side of the bank, so I spent the next 20 minutes fighting off anything that looked dangerous, which ended up in me inflicting way more cuts, scrapes and bruises than seemed humanly possible! By the time my instructor floated past shouting instructions on how to relax I was ready to kill him.

In the end it was the fatigue that made me let go. I had little energy left in me to keep on resisting.  And there it was. I finally surrendered. I allowed the river to carry me along as it had done from the start.

As I floated down the river I continued to hit some bumps but they became few and far between. The natural course took me through the deepest parts of the river where the water was smoother. As the tension in my body started to release, I began to notice my surroundings and I started to enjoy the free ride. Before long, I found myself laughing and having fun. I felt so free and happy.

Life is like the river. When you finally learn how to go with the flow, you realise life really is meant to be easy.