Are you flowing with life?

How do you know if you are flowing with life and what does it mean to flow with life? Imagine you are a leaf that has fallen on a running river. The leaf just flows with the current and it is not trying to go against it. That is how it should feel when we flow with life.

Some times we try to go against the current of life and that is when things seem difficult. When we go against the current, we might feel like life is not cooperating, that it is against us, and we might experience low frequency emotions like frustration and anxiety.

Flowing with life doesn't mean we have to resign ourselves to whatever happens to us. Flowing with life means that you create space in your heart to accept what it is that you cannot control and do your best with what you have in the situation in which you are.

I remember when I learned to flow with life. First, I had to learn to identify the resistance inside of me about a situation I was living. Once I knew I was resisting, I was able to accept the part I couldn't control without resigning myself. Everything became easier. I felt more freedom to act on my options because my mind was clearer and my heart was not in resistance mode.

Resistance can happen on different aspects of life, but we can mostly notice it when things don't go the way we want. For example, you were hoping to get a promotion, but when the announcement came, your name wasn't mentioned. If you get mad or frustrated, then you stop flowing with life.

Life happens for us, not to us. It is a challenge to accept the things we cannot control, but even in situations out of our control, we have options.

1. First, identify the resistance. In the previous example the resistance would be not accepting that you were not promoted. When resisting the idea of not being promoted, your body might feel frustration, anger, or envy. All of these are feelings of low frequency.

2. Focus your energy and attention on your options. Once you have accepted the situation for what it is, think about your options. Shifting your attention to the things you can control has an immediate impact on how you feel. You would not longer be putting energy into low frequency emotions, but intead, you would feel hopeful because of the options you have.

When we flow with life, life guides us through it like the river guides the leaf. When we accept what it is and we don't get stuck in the resistance, we see other opportunities. We see doors that open, things that happen that otherwise we wouldn't notice.

Are you ready to flow with life? Try to flow with life next time you feel resistance and let me know how it goes.