Unity of Birmingham Guest Writer Series:
By Jane Phillips
“Everything flows.”
Heraclitus
When you think of “flow” what is the first thing that comes to mind? Air,
water, a creek, a river, rain, the ocean tides, the ripples on a lake, the flight pattern
of butterflies, a murmuration of birds, the flow of blood through our veins and
arteries. Through our hearts. Flow brings up images of freedom, lack of boundaries
and limitations. We love the idea of flowing. We love to spend hours in the flow of
ideas, of conversation, the flow of people through a day, or a year. For most of us,
as long as the flow of our lives is unimpeded, we’re pretty happy.
But what happens when the flow is impeded? Rocks fall into the stream,
impenetrable fog occludes the path forward, our flow is interrupted by a sudden
change.
What happens when an unavoidable event requires us to stop and wait, and
perhaps, not act at all?
What happens to us when the ideas stop flowing, or the
flow of activity is interrupted by injury or illness?
What happens when our flow
ebbs and then stops altogether?
We avoid it. We try, like water, to go around it, or
over it. Sometimes we simply forge ahead, blind, uncertain of direction. That
usually ends badly, but we humans are a determined lot; we are compelled by ego
to force the flow whether it’s wise to do so or not.
There is a Zen saying: “Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and
grass grows by itself,” The ebb may be the most essential part of the flow—the
part where we stop long enough to absorb and integrate, the time we need to
connect the dots, to experience our understanding, our consciousness, expand a
little bit. Ebb is not the enemy; it is a natural part of the flow. Even migratory birds
eventually land.
In the Spirit,
Jane
Jane Philips is a retired Special Education teacher, Licensed Professional Counselor, and Licensed Massage Therapist. She has also lead Spirituality Groups, Wisdom Circles, drumming circles, and she wrote a daily blog for twelve years called Spiritually Speaking.
Jane is currently working on a memoir titled, Old Crazy Town. She is a fifth-generation quilter.