Go with the flow

Life, love, happiness are often spoken about using the metaphor of flow. The idea being to find your way through life, to discover depths of love or happiness what you need to do is let go of the edge of the river and go with the flow.

There is a well known book on finding lasting happiness called Flow written by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I have not read the book myself, although I have heard much about it. Looking up the title on amazon.com it say's that Mihaly's studies have revealed that what makes experience genuinely satisfying is 'flow' - a state of concentration so focused that it amounts to complete absorption in an activity and results in the achievement of a perfect state of happiness. This sounds similar to what sports stars describe as getting into the zone when experiencing peak performance. All of which may have an external manifestation but also speaks to an inner journey and understanding.

Last night I went to the very last open evening at Schumacher College. The speaker was Minni Jain and the title of her talk was 'Flow'. Minni spoke about projects she was involved in back in India that were reviving and then protecting defunct rivers. Through the revival of rivers life, vegetation and greenery were being brought back into desert lands.

This very real reconnection with flowing waters has lead Minni on to further inquiries into flow in other forms. For example, how do we revive flow in the dry barren lands of education, health care, politics, economics and communities?

In words inspired by those of Minni Jain

Let it Flow

I don't really make decisions
I just go with the flow
Don't resist
Go with the flow

Flow is everywhere
The river is everywhere
Don't resist
Let yourself go into the flow

There is a flow within us
There is a flow in the universe
Don't resist
Go deeper into the flow

The flow within, the flow without
They get imbalanced
Don't resist
Find the flow

Are you willing to work?
Are you willing to do anything?
Don't resist
Let it flow

Traditional wisdom was being ignored
Modern engineering had failed
Don't resist
Listen for the flow

Slow down, walk the land and know
Ask, what you can do to find the flow?
Don't resist
Be with the flow