The flow, that is.
Do you know about your flow? It’s a mental thing really, starting with an awareness – of what you are thinking and feeling and what makes you happy. And then acting upon that pursuit – becoming so engaged and engrossed that you lose track of time and space; you are “in the zone” not concerned with ‘other worldly’ issues – you simply are choosing to be in the moment of absolute delightful action. For the record – this is a state of being we should all be striving to attain, as often as we can.
Sometimes, that ‘flow’ may just be that you have a moment of complete right-this-minute clarity and what you love is your life. You have this knowing that most everything is just clicking. And you think to yourself; “more, please”. But more often, the flow is going to come to you when you’ve found that thing you are good at. Discovering your genius – your bliss. Watch a musician get lost in the delivery of a piece of music they are playing or a dancer float as they move across the dance floor, both a bit unconscious of the audience … the pleasure and experience of executing a passion can offer such intense gratification, you do not care what others think – your only concern is that it is making you happy! Simple as it sounds, the key to this transportive stream of delight is in doing something you love. Something that puts you in the flow on a regular basis.
So, imagine if the work you did, everyday – all day was you performing something you loved. Find work you love, and you will never work another day in your life is an expression I’m sure you’ve heard in one of many forms which loosely implies that discovering what you are good at and enjoy doing as your life’s work will reap rewards of great magnitude including health, wealth and a life of worthwhile contentment. For so long, though many felt this to be far-fetched thinking (doing what you love as your day job). So conditioned we have been to think work is not supposed to be fun. The harder, the better and expecting our work make us happy as we collect paychecks is just a silly, unrealistic notion.
I remember having these thoughts when the pandemic shutdown first occurred; “just wait, there will be countless many who will now question their work purpose and realize they can and should question how and where they spend their valuable energy and time” “good luck to all those businesses when trying to get these employees back to the workplace” “it’s going to be like stuffing your feet back into those pinched, close-toed shoes after almost a year of slippers, socks and bare feet”. This is not to say that everyone was dissatisfied with their day work, but it seems as if a good majority took the break as a way to put into question what would satisfy them and to examine what moving with their flow instead of against it might feel like. Such a beautiful awakening of the collective!
It is not my intention to argue or question the pandemic and its effects … we each came away with experiences and lessons for our lives. But one very indisputable fact is that it changed us. It brought much to light for self-analysis. I believe it made many stronger and more self-resilient. Begrudgingly I will admit, adversity has some redeeming qualities – a proverb I came across illustrates this … ‘Smooth Seas Do Not Make Skillful Sailors’. But I also feel that our life lessons don’t always have to be these dramatic, scary experiences before the lessons get learned. Unless we are resisting. Change is the only constant and resistance opposes the flow of energy. It takes a lot of effort to go against – to resist, to slow down or prevent. So learning to navigate our flow serves to ease the passage of our time here. Allow yourself to flow like a river when change happens.
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” Lao Tzu
Our greatest opportunities for growth are when we recognize our part in the changes and resistances aka; challenges and struggles we experience. Trust that you have boundless energy and wisdom within to go with your flow. You were born with talents, wishes and desires for a reason. You are perfect just as you are and deserve to be happily fulfilled with your life. So here’s the take-away; happy, satisfied humans make for a better more productive world.
Do us all a favor; go find your happy and get to it 😊