Be water, my friend
I’ve done a lot of things in my lifetime that didn’t prove to not be in my best interest. Lied, cheated, stole, and other actions unbecoming of a decent human being. It’s no secret that you reap what you sow; therefore the negative things didn’t simply happen to me by chance. However, there have been times where I was dealt a bad hand, or the universe decided that it was my time to carry the burden.
Life is full of ups and downs. We all know this. We have an influence on many of the things that occur in our lives, but what about the times where we feel utterly powerless? What do you do when life hands you something that you have absolutely no control over? Do you accept defeat? How do you endure the hardships? Pain? Heartbreak? Disappointment? The common denominator, no matter the issue, is YOU.
I was having a discussion with one of my friends last week, and the following quote came to mind. She was discussing some of the tough things she’s currently dealing with and how she had to find a way to overcome them to accomplish her goals. My reply to her was, “Be water.”
“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend”
Allow yourself the latitude to adapt just as water does when it’s poured into a container. Flow like water and create harmony with your surroundings. Crash like water and clear a path or cause destruction to the things around you. Change the way things affect you. Although this is not an easy feat by any means, it is sometimes the ONLY option. If you change yourself, the things around you will change. When you look at it this way, I guess we aren’t that powerless after all.
Originally published on Lost in Birmingham, October 24, 2018
