go with the flow...

Sometimes it's important to just go with the flow. Sometimes you have to let go and see where life takes you. As though you're floating, calmly down a lazy river on a raft with no paddle or oar. If you paddle your way to your destination, sure you'll get there, but what is it that you might miss along the way? Without a paddle or oar you may very well end up at your original destination, or you could end up someplace else completely. Maybe downstream the sand is smoother, whiter, softer. Maybe the landscape is prettier, or the journey to your destination is.

We're always trying so hard to control our destinies. We work hard at our careers and raising our families. We have strict rules and guidelines that we must adhere to... at least we believe we must adhere to. Our paths are carefully created and gently tread upon. We can't skip steps, slow down or hurry on ahead. We teach this to our children as well and we have very well laid out, detailed plans for their futures. But what happens when we decide to veer off course on purpose? Or if life veers us off and then we decide to adjust our sails and just go with the flow. What if we never end up where we thought we were supposed to? Or what if we ended up there, but many years later. Would that be so bad? What about all the amazing opportunities we'd see and experience along the way that we might not have otherwise?

My journey in life, I am learning, is a complete mystery to me. I am nowhere near where I thought I would be. My life is nowhere near what I thought it would be. Is that such a bad thing? At first, I admit, that I was disappointed and thought that it might be... but as I travel further and further down my new unchartered paths, I am discovering, learning and seeing so much that I know I otherwise would not have. All these amazing colors and textures are being woven into my life. New experiences coupled with friends new and old make for a much richer, much more satisfying life.

I've always believed that everyone comes into our lives for a reason. Everyone from an old elementary school friend, high school boyfriend to the local barista down the street. Don't discount the people you meet. For deep down we are all the same with lessons to teach and learn. We all give and take from one another in ways we cannot possibly imagine. Over the past couple of years all sorts of people have entered my world - I suppose they always do, as this is indeed life... but I have paid attention to these people and I have taken from them great gifts... gifts of smiles and humor and strength... and lessons to be learned and memories that have been made. I'm horrible with names. If we meet, and I don't know you, I'm likely to forget your name. It's a horrible, terrible thing and I try so very hard to work at it but I assure you this. I will never forget your face. Ever. I will always remember at least one thing about you. Most likely it will be something positive - a token of a friendship, fleeting or lasting, that I have kept with me as a gift.

Even the simplest and most mundane of days can turn out to be fantastically epic. You may not realize it at the time. Slow down. Savor it all. Live in the moment. Live in the now. Let go of the paddles. Let go of the oars. Let the river guide you...