Thursday, November 29, 2007

Go with the flow.

The common translation of Tao is "the way of nature". It's a sense of not struggling against the world but instead finding the path of least resistance. It's not a selfish sense, though, but more of a feeling to allow one's self to work in harmony with the world.

Being a Christ-follower, I see how the way of nature is my path and purpose. In the world, we tend to do so much, yet gain so little. And in the end, we feel tired, and unsatisfied. But by letting go, surrendering to God's will and following His plan, I do little and gain much. Hear (read) me out (and I'll start with a metaphor to thrill my English teacher):

My life is a river. In my decisions on how I want to live and what I want to do, at times I swim side to side, even upstream, against the current. I expend a ton of energy trying to go against the water, and gain little ground. Then when, and if, I get to where I want to be, I'm wiped out. No power left to do anything - at least not with any good results.

Now, let's go the other direction in the pool. Instead of fighting the waves, I allow the flow to take me downstream. I expend just enough energy to stay away from the banks, and if I hit a stone in the stream, I simply go around it, instead of trying to push it out of my path. I travel a great distance, and when I arrive, I am filled with strength to accomplish the task at the end.

This is me following God's way, and not mine. Why do I just get this at 42 years of age?

1 comments:

Map Finder said...

Hey there Jeff. Thanks so much for your detailed, great comment on my blog [eight-thirty.blogspot.com]. I agree with your diagnosis.

I like the artwork in this post. It's got a Japanese kanji in it, and I'm a big Japanese buff, so it's nice to see. Please continue to visit!

Thanks,

Jeff