Going with the Flow/Staying the Course

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.” – Tao Te Ching

There are times in life where we need to let go and flow in the river of life: yielding, releasing, and allowing. Other times we need to stay firm and direct our intentions and actions in the way we wish them to go. There’s a balance in this movement through life – yielding, then pushing, then yielding again – that helps us move towards our goals while allowing life to work through us.

It can be hard to find this balance. As a child I had no sense of what it meant to go with the flow. After my trauma I compensated for the sad state of my inner life by pushing through life attempting to make creations that were impressive and made me feel worthy. Eventually this strategy ceased working. Healing brought me to my knees and forced me to learn to let life move through me. I found the beauty in letting go and letting life itself direct me.

Now I like to move between the two approaches: yielding and sensing God’s will for me, then acting when it feels right. Some days I have a tendency to yield too much out of fear. I’ve worked on this a lot to learn to tell when fear is holding me back from action when I know God’s will is for me to move.

Finding the balance is as easy – and as hard – as just letting go. You were born with God’s love and life force flowing through you. Release your ideas of what should be and allow life to flow through you.