I'm a collector of rocks
I’m a collector of memories
I’m a collector of people
I’m a collector
As I age, I let go
More interested in
Holding on to the best
And the brightest
As I age, I let go of
Memories that hurt
Memories that hold back
Those I have lost
As I age, I let go of
The ideals and expectations
The have to's and the musts
I let go
As I age my body becomes less agile
My skin becomes drier
My attention becomes less acute
And my heart goes with the flow
As I age my mind is more used to
The games I play with fear
My breathing is more patient and
I have less need to run away from me
As I age, I ease up on my expectations
On my time constraints realizing
Time is another obstacle in
Letting go
Step by step aging is like mirror work
With less resistance to acceptance
And more welcoming I am
To who I am.
Go with the Flow
Let go of fear and your need to control. Relinquish anxiety. Let it slip away, as you dive into the river of the present moment, the river of your life, your place in the universe.
Stop trying to force the direction. Try not to swim against the current, unless it is necessary for your survival. If you’ve been clinging to a branch at the riverside, let go.
Let yourself move forward. Let yourself be moved forward.
Avoid the rapids when possible. If you can’t, stay relaxed. Staying relaxed can take you safely through fierce currents. If you go under for a moment, allow yourself to surface naturally. You will.
Appreciate the beauty of the scenery, as it is. See things with freshness, with newness. You shall never pass by today’s scenery again!
Don’t think too hard about things. The flow is meant to be experienced. Within it, care for yourself. You are part of the flow, an important part. Work with the flow. Work within the flow. Thrashing about isn’t necessary. Let the flow help you care for yourself. Let it help you set boundaries, make decisions, and get you where you need to be when it is time.
You can trust the flow, and your part in it.
Today, I will go with the flow.
Participants’ Reflections:
I used to be a water safety instructor. We taught if you fell overboard, to stay with the boat. It’s not best to swim to the side which appears the closest, but go with the flow and gradually angle over to get out. Using a combination of what you want and going with the flow makes you get to the other side.
I love thinking of life as a river, sometimes forks, sometimes streams that flow in. If we’re fortunate, the universe flows with us, sometimes we have to jump out and navigate.
Bill Staines has a beautiful song about the flow of rivers.
I love the idea of the river. I was visualizing a river with every breath, taking a stroke, swimming. Yesterday I had an MRI, 30 minutes, banging, etc. I meditated and almost went to sleep. My body was completely still. I had a great opportunity, 30 minutes in an MRI machine. Wonderful effects of meditation practice.
The flow of life, great reading, great poem. The closer we get to our mortality, the sweeter our life becomes. We think of the miracle of life as a baby being born. As I’m aging, I’m more aware of life in people, a blade of grass. Water can be very heavy about 62 cubic pounds. If you box in water, it’s heavy. If you open it, it flows. When I’m trying to sleep, I think about the flow of the river and it helps. It comes to obstacles and it keeps flowing. We learn to trust.
I was thinking of hanging on to the branch and you can’t do that, because it stops the flow of your life. I think of how things used to be and how I wish them to be and I have to let go. It reminds me of a Heraclitus quote “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”
This community holds us and we hold each other. Meditation with Kenneth Soares is a very helpful resource with his healing voice talking me into sleep.
I had a daughter that was alive for 32 years. I did everything to keep her alive. Around the age of 30, I realized that I had to accept she was terminally ill and to stop fighting it. I was surprised to learn I wasn’t giving up but joining fully with her and accepting. Life moves and changes and it’s not what we ask for or expect. My acceptance helped me, it helped her and everyone around us.