Are you paddling like crazy?

Go with the flow!

I went for a lovely walk last night about 4pm. After a whole day at my desk it was time to get some fresh air.

I decided to take my iphone with me to listen to some inspirational conversation. And boy was I inspired!

I listened to a really old podcast with Oprah Winfrey from several years ago when she was talking to Elizabeth Lesser. Although it was old, it nevertheless struck a cord and I wanted to share that with you.

A caller had called Oprah’s radio programme with an “Aha moment!” – You know when the penny drops about something.

The caller told how she had been inspired by a conversation on a previous broadcast.

She had heard a story about going down to the river. It went like this.

Take a small boat to the river’s edge with paddles. Most people would deliberately turn the boat in the direction of going up stream and begin to paddle hard. People would then say “why don’t you turn your boat and go with the flow?” Most people say “that seems lazy!” But everything we want is down stream. The fact is that there’s a current to everybody’s life and a natural flow. To get in the flow you don’t need to turn the boat round, just let go of the oars as the current will carry you. This is so much easier.

This seemed to me like a really powerful message.

How often do you find yourself putting a huge amount of energy into something that just doesn’t seem to work? You often force something to be that clearly doesn’t want to be the way you think it needs to be.

Importantly going with the flow does not mean giving up or not bothering where you end up. What it does mean is that your energy can serve you far better.

Where in your life are you paddling up stream when all you need to do is let go of the oars?