A River Runs Through It…
Imagine you’re walking down the center of a small river, heading downstream. The current at your back is quite strong, and the water is nearly chest high, but the bottom is of sufficient traction so that you feel stable in your footing.
The walk is a bit cumbersome, as you’re in chest-deep waters…but with the current at your back, your strides are continually forward. In fact, once in a while, if you’re tired, you may lift up your feet and simply float along. Free to rest, but with your course now controlled by the river.
Life often feels like this, I think.
The River? Our existence. Our station. Our stream of consciousness, built from a lifetime of experiences, memories, hopes, dreams, relationships, goals, lessons and other influences, positive and negative. Its depth could even be based on age, or ‘experience’.
The Current? The current speaks to the momentum generated by our past decisions. Each playing a roll to push us towards a particular destination or end. Reinforced by our own cognitive biases, developed as the River has grown.
Life often feels like this, I think.
We are surrounded by our conscious world. The one that we’ve participated in, witnessed, and helped to construct. And we are increasingly at the mercy of the Current. The Current that we have set in motion, through our decisions.
We are swept down the River, towards destinations both literal and figurative, both known, and unknown. What we can certainly tell, however, is our direction. And we know intrinsically if the direction we’re headed, points in fact to the destination(s) that we believe will constitute a life well lived. A life of purpose and meaning, joy and contentment, love and legacy.
But what happens when our internal meter tells us that we are off course?
It seems there are two courses of action that we can take.
On one hand, we can place our feet firmly on the bottom of the riverbed, and turn 180 degrees, face-first into the Current. We can face those past decisions that have created the momentum of our lives. We can stand with discipline and conviction, putting one foot in front of the other, and begin to walk back…through the Current, until our course is corrected.
But I’m not sure this is always best.
Looking backwards can be quite treacherous. One misstep, and you’re drowning. Facing and fighting the waters. Struggling to maintain the new course, depending on will and strength and energy and breath.
What if…instead of turning completely around, to face and to fight the momentum of the past…we utilized its great power to magnify our own?
What if…we became crystal clear about our destination, and used today’s decisions as a rudder.
A rudder is a control device used to steer ships, characterized by its ability to create a swift and significant change of course, with just a slight turn.
It is often those small, daily decisions (and actions)…the slight turns to our rudder, that create the biggest change, especially over time.
Along the way, we’re still facing forward…facing our future. We’re utilizing our personal Current to accelerate our new course. We’re conserving our willful energy, and maintaining a clear and focused view of our destination. And sometimes, when we need the rest, we can still pick up our feet and float. Without feeling subject to the whim of our Current. Instead, feeling empowered by it.
When is it time to turn, face and fight the Current? And when are we better served with small and significant changes to our lifelong course?
I don’t know the exact answer, and I suspect that reflection could go on for quite a while.
But what I do know, is this:
As our Rivers become broader and deeper, so does the power of the Current. So it is prudent that we respect the Current, but wise that we become ever more grateful for it.
Your current has brought you here. And it will take you anywhere you want to go.
