I interrupt this regularly scheduled program with a very important announcement. A reminder to, Go With The Flow.
I’ve been in book publishing mode here for the past month. Don’t worry. I’ve not stopped writing, let’s not get crazy with it. But I have for sure gotten into the flow of things on that front. And you’re probably wondering why I’d start a Go With The Flow essay, with the statement, “I interrupt”. But that’s kinda the whole point of this…
I ran across this in Eckhart Tolle’s The Power Of Now, this morning:
The present moment is sometimes unacceptable, unpleasant, or awful.
It is as it is. Observe how the mind labels it and how this labeling process, this continuous judgment, creates pain and unhappiness. By watching the mechanics of the mind you step out of its resistance patterns, and you can then allow the present moment to be. This will give you a taste of inner freedom from the external conditions, the state of true inner peace. Then see what happens, and take action if necessary or possible.
Accept — then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. Make it your friend, your ally, not your enemy. This will miraculously transform your whole life.
Whoa, there’s sooo much wisdom in that paragraph!
First, Master Tolle is suggesting that we hit the Pause Button. “Observe how the mind labels it.”
Next, Amor Fati. “Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it.”
Then, Go With The Flow. “Always work with it, not against it. Make it your friend.”
This is a founding tenant of the stoics as well. In Seneca’s Letters of a Stoic, he advises that if we don’t Go With The Flow, we’re choosing to go about it the hard way.
“The fates lead the willing, but drag the reluctant.” -Seneca
And in his handbook, Enchiridion, Epictetus argues that unhappiness comes from demanding that things happen as you wish they would, instead of Going With The Flow.
“Do not seek for things to happen the way you want them to; rather, wish that what happens happens the way it happens — then you will be happy.” -Epictetus
Marcus Aurelius counseled himself, saying that obstacles do not block your path. But rather, they become the path.
“A blazing fire makes flame and brightness out of everything that is thrown into it.” -Marcus Aurelius
Go With The Flow. It is as it is.
Accept — then act. But only if necessary or possible.
The Things We Tell Ourselves
If perception is indeed reality, then what we tell ourselves is the story of our lives.
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Polk Knoll — A Collection of Short Stories, is a compilation of the first stories I’ve published. Though this is but one of a number of books I’ll publish this year, this collection of stories is very special to me. It’s hard to explain the feeling of pressing the publish button for the first time — it’s exciting, and scary to put your work out there for others to read!