Life Like WaterLife Transformation Blog - Immerse Yourself

Disrupted Serenity

There you are, kayaking down a beautiful river on a cool refreshing morning. Holding the oars out of the water, you gently coast with the natural flow of the river. As you listen to the peaceful sounds of nature and take in as much of it’s beauty along the river banks, you can’t help but wish every day was like this. No concrete. No traffic. No noise. No stress.

You close your eyes for a few seconds to focus on the smell, sounds, and the feeling of the wind caressing your cheeks. Your moment in serenity is violently disrupted as the kayak hits a rock, and another, and another. Until you find yourself in the middle of raging rapids.

Life like water offers you many peaceful moments of serenity. Unfortunately, it can also catch you off guard, forcing you into a fight for survival. You can’t control life any better than the river. Fortunately, you are in control of your responses and reactions to the events that hit you. You usually have two choices when going through the rapids:

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Life Flows Like a River

Life flows like a river, with its tight relationship with time, in that it’s swiftly moving even when we’re not. There are tree branches whisked away with the current, clusters of rocky rapids failing to hold it back, colorful rainbows decorating waterfalls, and Jack Frost’s yearly struggle to freeze its flow.

Rivers offer us a wild adventure, while refreshing us inside and out. We are captivated by their majestic waterfalls and calmed by their flowing sounds. We are saddened when they dry up and threatened when they flash flood.

Yes, like life, rivers are amazing natural wonders. Yet, it’s not really about the river that matters, as it’s more about how we respond while in it. Here are some example responses:

1. The Rock – As a rock, you sit still, while life moves forward around you. You may think that you’re moving forward too, but the current pulling in the opposite direction tells you that looking upriver only gives the appearance of moving forward. As a new rock, you’re sitting dealing with many issues and emotions. In time, these rough edges will be rounded smooth as the river flows by.
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Emotional Crowbar

Earlier, I outlined the 9 Primary Emotions We Respond To, which many people have no problems with. Yet, there are many others that are very skilled at suppressing their emotions and have locked them away in a closet. I know my closet was dead-bolted earlier this year.

I was like a boulder thinking that I was moving forward. Instead, life was flowing all around me like a river moving in the opposite direction, where I was fighting an up-stream battle. As a boulder, I preferred to be in a cluster with other boulders as long as we didn’t touch.

Oh, how I wish someone came along earlier in my life with an emotional crowbar, to pry open the door to my closet. The emotional crowbar is fairly simple but it has a very steep requirement. Before you can effectively use one (yeah, yeah, I’ll get to what it is in a minute), you’ll need to gain a solid trust with the person. It may be a bit tougher if that person is yourself. I’ll save that discussion for another article.

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