Purpose like a river
Original Medium Post HERE
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We’re all a part of it. Together, we can change its course
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My children by the banks of a river in Maine, with light playing off the water and rocks
We are born drops cascading into a river. The movement of our culture, our time, our humanity.
Though we may seek to change it, we are also, inescapably a part of it. We only see, know, and understand from our position in it.
The river is beautiful, winding down from mountain waterfalls at the birth of humanity to a sea no one of us will ever reach.
We can take in our river’s breathtaking beauty, its duality, its contradictions. This lifegiving river also can take life away. Its treacherous rocks are the source of awe-inspiring waterfalls and rapids.
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The riverbed is uneven. Some of us move in slow eddies or along protected banks; others race along in swift currents, going under and up. These paths, even seemingly steady, can change at any moment.
We don’t know when we will evaporate. We just know we are in the river now.
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It travels through sun and shade, showing diamonds of light, revealing and hiding its depths.
As the river winds under sun and clouds, it seem to change color, but still and always, it is the same river.
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We can’t always resist our path because we are in the water — and so we will flow. Our individual drop-energy is limited.
But we have control too — more than we know. We can maneuver the currents to reach our shore. We can find the path of least resistance to carry us the greatest distance toward our destination.
When we are mindful, we discover hidden ways to maneuver. We might find a current where we can enjoy the ride, renew, recharge, and strengthen.
We can recognize we are in the river. We can let the river carry us as much as possible.
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A current with the change we seek: a current of our purpose might already be waiting for us.
We can find another drop in the same current, or seeking the same current — at least for now. And then another, and then another. Together, we can move that current in the river.
Sometimes, we can even change the course of the whole river.
Even the mighty Mississippi has dramatically changed course in places. The movement started with drops of water collectively storing potential energy and releasing it by finding the quickest path to the sea.
None of those early drops would have known that suddenly, further downstream, their actions would change the course of the whole river.
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This isn’t to say change ever will be easy. It is only to say maybe if we are to succeed, we need to find the way to make the work a little easier. A little more fun. A little less lonely.
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We are this beautiful, wonderful, dangerous, life-giving, fun, frightening river. Let’s make this journey joyful, together.
Stay joyful, East Boston!
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