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Reflection 12: The Flow of Life

8/25/2009 7:50:55 PM

Not long ago I read something that gave me one of those ‘ah-ha’ moments. The author talked about moving with the flow of life; letting life carry us along rather than trying to move against the current.

My first reaction was predictable: that’s irresponsible! After all, we spend our whole life learning how to make things happen. We are responsible for shaping our environment and working hard for success.

But as I thought about this, I realized how much of my life and energy have been spent fighting against the current, trying to force life to go in the direction I wanted. Even as I felt God leading me, I would become frustrated trying to bring a leading into existence my way and in accordance with my timing—which usually meant ‘right now!’

However, if I honestly believe my life is part of God’s larger plan and my individual story is interwoven with the larger story of humanity which is interwoven with the larger story of Life itself, how is it I think I can fight against the flow of life as it moves toward its intended completion?

I believe we're all here to learn, to grow spiritually deeper. That means we need a wide variety of experiences. For example, if I must learn patience, then I will need to be placed in situations that challenge me to my limits until I (hopefully) learn patience. If I need to learn compassion, I'll meet people who I might consider hard to love if I don't look beyond the surface to the person of God they really are.

This means much of our life will flow according to God's plan. Our task is to go with the current of life, responding to unfolding events the best we are able, understanding the purpose of everything in our lives is to teach us something. Going with the flow of life doesn’t mean we aren’t passionate about life or those things we believe it. It means we let go of trying to control our lives and everything around us and accept that God has a plan for us; each one of us individually and as a whole.

It’s so important that we remain teachable, for this is the purpose of our existence here: to grow spiritually and to be of service to others as they also seek to grow, whether or not they do so consciously. After all, we’re all in this together and we need one another. Even people we label ‘negative’ teach us something about ourselves. Every experience, every encounter, is filled with the possibility that we can grow from it.

There’s a tremendous sense of peace when we go with the flow of life, for it requires living in present time, not stuck in the past or anxiously focused on the future, on what might happen. It requires courage and above all, trust in God’s purpose and presence.