Navigating the Stream of Life

We are on a river of life.
Our job is to flow, gently down its stream, merrily on our way, living our dream.

We have the opportunity of floating merrily, merrily down a stream. If you look at any river system the majority of it's flow is gentle, especially a more mature river.

"but Dr. Norm this river is turbulent, it is not what I expected, it's not what I signed up for!"

First, check and see if you are the one putting boulders into your own stream. Are you creating interference in the flow of your life? Are you placing extra drama and challenges in a life that wants to flow smoothly? Are you adding extra twists and bends, dwelling on the negative or adding more into your life making it extra complicated?  This is the first step….clear your own interference.

In nearly every river there are periods and segments where the flow is much quicker and more intense. Now what?  There are periods of our lives where we go through more intense and sudden growth and are required to move more quickly. The same principles apply. Accept what is, partner with the flow of your life and apply yourself fully.  Just like when riding a river during fast sections you are wise to paddle faster, match your rhythm to the rhythm of life and let the energy of life carry you.  

There will be parts of the journey that may be uncomfortable and may not go the way we want them to and we are asked to ride out some turbulent times.  This is all but guaranteed.  Just like the river we do not get to tell life how to flow.   How we deal with this is where we have choice.  Are you someone who screams in resistance, blaming what is....or do you accept what is and partner with the flow. 

This may be new for many of you as you are so used to paddling upstream and working against life.   Just think how much energy this takes to resist the flow of a quick moving river trying to maintain the same as what we’ve been used to….as some would say to try and stay “balanced”.  There will be time where the aligned flow is out of balance from what we have always known and experienced.  This faster flow is going to feel different because it is different. Our first response may be to resist the change see it as wrong and look to preserve life back to the way it was before.   However, the invitation again is to partner with the flow and things wants to happen emerge.

When things are a fast flow many feel like they have to think extra hard to figure it all out, get it right and control it. When the river is moving quickly often we are required to act faster than we can think. This requires us to connect and respond to Innate, to our intuition. Just like a baseball player that is able to sense the rotation of a baseball that is moving at him at 100 miles an hour, a feat that is simply impossible for the mind to comprehend. But innate is able to do it!

​When your river is moving quickly and turbulent, enjoy the ride! Yippie we are gonna shoot some rapids! Paddle with the same intensity of the river, partner with it, apply yourself fully and listen to the quiet directions of innate.  If you get bumped out of the boat, it’s all good; it’s part of the game of life! Get back into the boat, learn from your experiences and hook up to the river again.