Glow with the Flow

Glow with the Flow

Things continue to happen in our life whereby we need to shift gear and get going. That’s not a time to stop or wonder!  Stopping is not an option.  This is when we need to “go with the flow”. Or should we say “glow with the flow”.

The title and lyrics of the song by Billie Ocean sums it up so well:

“When the going gets tough
The tough get going…”

“Glow with the flow” is not my creation and I don’t take credit. Yet it describes just what I am feeling these days. With so many things changing last minute.com. I am needing to adapt and adjust at lightning speed or risk getting left behind.  If even now I continue to use my ego and insist on having it “my way”, refusing to adjust, then there is the possibility of becoming extinct!

All of us are experienced enough to know, that we really do need to “go with the flow”. A perfect example is of traffic… sitting through the queues and keeping the calm and peace is a huge gift to ourself.  Our soul will thank us for choosing peace at the end of the day.  Getting irritated, shouting obscene slogans, gritting our teeth, all this will just make us tired and feeling helpless.  We will lose power, become more miserable, and will have reinforced a bad habit, plus… we will not have moved one inch further in the traffic jam!

What qualities are needed to “go with the flow”? 

There are many, but here are a few to get you started; flexibility, mould-ability, humility, patience, a little pinch of love also.

We have to watch out for the ego, because the ego does not allow us to flow.  Ego makes us rigid and unyielding. Ego makes us think “we are right …” and … all the time! For example, imagine three people walking away from a meeting understanding one point. The note-taker claims that this point was not the decision they noted. They insist they have taken the right notes. Could it be that they could have misheard or got it wrong?

When we insist that’s simply arrogance. We do not have 360 vision or the ability to remember every detail. We are humans and fallible. Combine that with our short memory and it’s all an explosive recipe. Insistence just makes us closed to others, they are pushed away from us, because the ego repels people.

Learning to be humble enables us to be light and easy, and means we can simply acknowledge things easily.  Especially our mistakes. This makes us open and approachable, souls will warm to us as result.  Humility wins the hearts of others. Having an easy nature really is a blessing.

So how can we glow more?

It requires a change of mind-set. This will enable us to easily adapt to change and not hold onto anything, to smoothly move through our day, not getting caught up in any issue of the moment.  That indeed is an art worth learning.  It’s not just about “going with the flow” but as we do so it’s about glowing with it. Having that shine and smile. Making it look like a breeze. Enjoying it. Learning how to bend like the willow tree, but always to remain true to oneself.  When we can do this naturally we will feel empowered… light and happy.

Having the freedom of self-expression without being at the expense of anyone else, can in itself bring a sense of joy into our life.  Who on occasion has not enjoyed a bit of diva singing in the shower? Or dancing in the kitchen? That ability to attempt something new for which we really don’t have any aptitude, but just the desire and willingness to “have a go”, and express the joy in our heart can in itself bring its own fruit, satisfaction and growth.  Here we experience a sense of freedom, because we are not aiming to achieve superstar status (with that singin’ or dancin’!), which is quite a relief and removes a great deal of stress from just the process of “having a go” and “going with the flow”.  And because we have let go of expecting an Oscar award, this allows us to express ourselves freely; this is truly an aspect of the creative nature of the soul.

Some people might think that “going with the flow” is a form of idleness, or can’t be bothered state of mind.  But like the fish in water that flows with the current of the mighty river, that fish will reach its destination by using less force and resistance.  It’s not about being apathetic, but consciously staying in our power and our peace, and “just being”. So it’s not about being idle, but being at peace.

We are not idle for the sake of idleness, but to “just be” and not to run from or run to anything. To be… here… now… in this moment. Meaning that sometimes to “just go with the flow”, feels like being idle, as though we are emotionless, numb. Yet the very act of accepting the drama, to not dispute it, is so liberating. This positive attitude towards the script of life makes us powerful. An inner will develops! A discipline and formula for life!

It’s Time… to show your glow as you flow with life.

© ‘It’s Time…’  by Aruna Ladva, BK Publications London, UK