Flow Like Water

"Nothing under heaven is softer and weaker than water,

yet nothing can better break what is hard and strong.

In this, nothing can take the place of water.

The weak triumphs over the strong, the soft triumphs over the hard.

Everyone knows this, but few can put it into practice."

Tao Te Ching

We are told., over and over in the Tao Te Ching, the 2800 year old manual on living with effortless ease in the perfect flow of the present moment, that all we have to do to experience that effortless flow, is to 'be like water'. Usually, if we are honest, we do just the opposite; we tend to resist the flow of things while trying to inflict our will on people and situations. We confront things head-on, and often times end up making the situation worse, while exhausting ourselves in the process.

Yet, we are told by Lao Tzu that, giving up our opposition to the way life is flowing - and relaxing- while moving with the stream of events, gives us the power (Te), to overcome any hardship or challenge. It also allows us to actually enjoy and live in harmony with life as it unfolds. If we contemplate water deeply, we see that it always flows down-stream, it moves around obstacles, and though it is soft, it can wear down the largest boulders or keep the biggest ships afloat on the sea.

Emulating water means that we 'go with the flow' of the Tao and surrender to it's power, which always knows better than we do where we need to go, and what we need to do. As we surrender to this magnificent power, we will find our lives becoming easier, less stressful and more joyful as we watch everything work out for our highest benefit. All that is required is for us to use the example of water, and stop trying to force things to be a particular way, while allowing the Universal Flow (the Tao) to determine the direction and course of our lives. Have you noticed that it always does anyway?