Going with the Flow is not the same as Giving Up

Have you ever had a goal that you just can’t seem to attain? One where  you struggle, push, and it feels like you are paddling upstream… and still you are no closer to your goal? And it’s frustrating. Then someone tells you to just ‘go with the flow’, and that feels like they are telling you to give up. You don’t want to give up when you have been pushing so hard, and so it can be hard to know how to ‘flow’.

Have you ever sat next to a river and just watched? Not only do you see the water moving, with sunlight dancing on the surface, but you see other things being swept effortlessly along by the current. Duck and geese riding along the tiny waves. Kayakers, leaves from trees, water bugs, everything takes advantage of resting and going with the flow. They are still going somewhere; they are using the flow to make their life a bit easier, and still go on a journey.

Maybe the goal you want to accomplish is a worthy goal, but now is not the right time. Maybe shifting your perspective, going with the flow of where life is pointing right now, will give you a different journey at this time, until the timing is right. Perhaps, there is more you need to see or experience or even just be in a different mental place in order to see the goal more clearly… and sometimes that can even be a very different goal –  one that you love even more – but were so focused on the first one that you never thought if it before.

How can you go with the flow in life?

• Be more present to what is going on around you right now. Disconnect with technology, and really notice what’s around you. Notice how your home feels, and if there is a sense of energy flowing. Release clutter. Move some things around, just for the sake of making it feel a bit different.
• Go outside. Be present for the feel of the wind, the movement of the clouds, the flow of air in your lungs. Watch a river or stream or even a water fountain.
• Drink more water. This charges up your internal energy system, and connects you to the energy of flow.
• Let you emotions go. Let tears flow, if need be, But also watch funny movies, and find ways to laugh out loud. Let the joy flow.
• Notice what choices are easier to make, and sometimes choose what feels right in this moment. Wash dishes or take a nap? Sometimes giving yourself permission to flow with smaller things, and how it will feels, allows you to tune in to how to flow with what feels right on bigger things.

Using this Mercury Retrograde time to stop pushing and be introspective on goals, and allow yourself more flow and less paddle, might be just the change of scenery that you need.