Firepower: Flow
Firepower: Flow
Phil Connor
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Author’s Note: This year, I’ll take readers on a journey that explores how our lives are like rivers running through us. Each attribute of these rivers represents an aspect of our lives. So grab a paddle and join me in the Firepower kayak as we embark on a journey to explore the river within you. This month, we’ll explore flow.
A river is an amazing and dynamic body of water. A river can be soothing, or it can crush stone with great impact. A river can be life-giving, or it can cause swift death. Whether moving forward with great speed or gliding at a tranquil pace, every river is made up of millions of water molecules that are all sliding and pushing across each other to keep the river alive. These molecules stick together, even when they’re faced with obstacles. Like these molecules, we also benefit from sticking together. A river that does not flow is dying as an ecosystem. As people, we also need to keep moving to remain healthy, flexible, and nimble—not just physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. The indigenous people of our lands knew the power of rivers and showed great respect to flowing waters. Rivers have many attributes that resemble aspects of our lives, and we can learn some valuable lessons from them.
Rivers have many attributes that resemble aspects of our lives, and we can learn some valuable lessons from them.
Constancy and Unpredictability
A river is always moving, and it starts its journey unaware of the path it will take. Similarly, our bodies, and our lives, are in constant motion, unfolding with absolutely no one knowing what the outcome will be. The flow of our lives is constant and ever-changing. Cells break down and regenerate, our bodies mature and grow, and we eventually peak in development, then slowly degenerate. The unknown in our future may cause excitement or worry, depending on our experiences. However, the uncertainty of the river does not cause it concern or anxiety. Like a dynamic river, our lives have twists and turns—points where the momentum picks up, and other times when our life feels peaceful and serene. As a river finds it difficult to resist the tug of gravity, our lives and the passing of time have a similar pull on us.
Adaptability
Rivers encounter obstacles and need to change course, finding their path toward the oceans. When we have challenges, we need to adjust, realign, and adapt to our surroundings. Resisting change only hinders our journey forward. Maintaining a fluid resilience and realizing that obstacles are only brief setbacks allow us to move forward. When we possess a forward-oriented focus, it reveals the best path around, over, under, or through any setbacks we may encounter.
Maintaining a fluid resilience and realizing that obstacles are only brief setbacks allow us to move forward.
Growth and Expansion
Flowing water starts high in the hills as small streams. As it continues downhill, the river merges with other tributaries, growing in volume. In our lives, this mirrors the growth of our experiences, relationships, knowledge, and love. Our lives start simply and become more complex as we grow and mature. The power of the river is in the cumulative strength of these elements coming together and working as one. Likewise, our lives are the collective experience, relationships, and skills we develop.
Source and Destination
Every river is finite with a beginning that eventually ends in the wide open seas. From the day we are born, our journey is leading to an end when we move on to the next life. We are not guaranteed that next life, but we often pass through our day-to-day routines, taking this life for granted. Successfully reaching the seas is predicated on how a river navigates the obstacles it encounters. The outcomes of our lives are linked to how we navigate our journeys, so ensuring that we’re consistently vibrant and always advancing is essential.
Purification, Erosion, and Deposits
Rivers clean themselves by what they run through. Rivers leverage the obstacles they encounter and their environment to improve and get better. In our lives, we can differentiate ourselves by leveraging the obstacles we encounter. Rather than resisting challenges in our lives, we can use them to learn, grow, and get stronger. A landscape can change and evolve as a river cuts through it. Similarly, challenges can knock us down and weaken us, but we build back in different ways and emerge resilient and stronger.
Challenges can knock us down and weaken us, but we build back in different ways and emerge resilient and stronger.
Dynamism and Nature
Rivers are impacted by weather, seasons, and environmental factors. Our lives are likewise impacted by culture, society, and circumstance. We’re not immune to outside forces in our lives. When we can accept that this type of vulnerability is a part of living and something to be embraced, we can truly thrive. Life offers moments of peace and tranquility, alongside those of chaos and change. This is often unavoidable, and how we respond in these moments is what defines us. Our lives move ahead just one day at a time. Whether it’s good or bad is revealed by how we spend the time of each of our days.
Life, like a river, is a journey filled with movement, and unpredictable situations. Embracing the flow, with both calm and turbulent phases, helps us navigate our lives. As we create this life, the changing sequence of events is impossible to replicate the same way twice. This is the number one rule of the river and our lives: Everything is changing; nothing remains the same.
Rule 1: Everything is changing; nothing remains the same.
We need to embrace the change and energy that comes from a river-like life. In the words of the late great Bruce Lee: “Running water never grows stale; you need to keep on flowing.” Let’s take a brief moment today—right now—to list the aspects of our lives we have considered obstacles and reflect on how we might embrace flow to pass over, under, around, or through these challenges.
I look forward to our journey together down your river over the next several months. Thanks for reading—and have a prosperous month ahead.
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Phil Connor
Phil Connor is always working with his team at Ignition Labratory to find new ways to spread the fire. If you found Phil's column impactful, or if you'd like to have him speak at an upcoming event, contact him at phil.connor@live.com.
