Don't Push the River

March Meditation Video Here . . .

“Don’t push the river it flows by itself.”
I heard this a long time ago and it often pops up in my psyche, probably when I most need it and when I am pushing the river. Sometimes it is so hard to stay where we are and be in it. As a young athlete wanting to get to the next plateau, the next level, the next tournament, the higher ranking and then as an actress; the next job, the next audition, the next rehearsal, the next play and so on….
   Being in the moment, the here and now, even when it's uncomfortable is a challenge. We can easily pick up our phone and escape the now but when we set it down BAM we are right back in.
   It is like if you were cruising in an inner tube down the intense rapids and then you come out of it and the water slows down, it’s so calm it feels like you aren’t even moving. Maybe you start freaking out because you are moving sooooo slowly and you still want to be in the rapids. However, underneath, the water is still pushing you at its pace toward the next rapids. It just isn’t the pace you want. It is the river’s pace and you can’t make it go faster or slower. Hahahaha. Seems so obvious but when we are in the calm waters of something in our lives; things aren’t growing fast enough, moving fast enough, building fast enough, and you are wanting rapids, you are living in such frustration.
   You can’t force the rapids, it will come when the time is right.  When the waters are calm and slow or challenging and painful, what is the lesson or the observation you need to make? In that moment you may need to learn something really important to help you survive the next wild waters. If you kick back on the inner tube and chill, look up at the sky and all the trees, inhale the air, be in it fully . . . next thing you know the water starts to pick up and here is the next rapids.
    When I try to push the river or “want” it to be different than it is, then I am just living in anguish. It is a no-win scenario. For me the surrender is one of the most challenging things. So, today, I will stay with it, one breath at a time, one conversation at a time, one action at a time. I will meditate, more than usual, journal and walk, and walk and walk.
   Staying with it…...learning what I need for the next rapids.
 Have a present Tuesday!
Love you all!!!