Going With The Flow
Or Banging Your Head On A Brick Wall?
Everyone always talks about going with the flow, getting in the flow and being ‘one’ with the Universe — but let’s face it, when you are in ‘resistance mode’ that just sounds like a lot of blah-blah-blah. And that flow feels anything but flowy and more like banging your head on a brick wall. We want what we want when we want it, What’s wrong with that (says the Aries ram in me)?! Aaaaah. Deep surrender. Sometimes things simply don’t align as we see fit and in our timing (the nerve, right?). And no one knows just how frustrating that is more than me.Recently I experienced one of those moments in my world, in my work to be more specific. Things didn’t seem to be coming together in a way that they usually did. I was feeling irritated by it, frustrated, and slowly but surely beginning to tip-toe down the self-doubting path. I was witnessing all of this negativity slipping in and finally decided to take a step back and to trust. I thought, I might as well witness this from the sidelines and observe where this is going. Perhaps it has something more to reveal. What do I have to lose? This surely isn’t working.
You see — faith is a superpower.
Honing our intuitive skills and connecting to our senses takes far more strength than pushing back. It’s not ‘woo-woo’ to trust, it’s actually wise. Pushing back only begets more resistance. Perpetual motion doesn’t make things happen faster. So I kept on truckin,’ keeping my insecurities at bay. And when we do this, we create the space for magic to arrive. Sometimes you are magic-making and you don’t even realize it until the physical evidence appears. We can be such stubborn little proof-gatherers.Feeling like you are banging your head on a closed door is a real experience. I’m not suggesting that you ignore it, or pretend your emotions away. I am suggesting that you reconsider how you experience it. This is where the choice comes in. Are you going to consider yourself a loser, a failure or not good enough, simply because things didn’t pan out how you planned? You could choose door number one and beat up on yourself…or you could consider door number two, the notion that something better may be in store for you right around the corner. How are you going to get there if you are too busy fighting yourself and bruising your forehead? We get so used to this routine, we don’t even recognize that we are doing it. Stop the merry-go-round. I want to get off. Once again, it may seem like an over-simplification, but trust me, this shows up in all aspects of our lives: our personal relationships, our work, our self-care, our finances etc. It’s our creature-of-habit-syndrome.
Resistance is a red flag — an alert to choose again.
What if we perceived ‘No’ as a possible gift rather than a rejection? I could’ve wasted a great deal of time angst-ing over not getting the results I wanted, but that wouldn’t have changed the outcome – it just would’ve made me miserable in the process. When that ‘No’ appears, how about saying to yourself – Hmmm, that’s curious. I need to look a little closer at this to uncover what it’s trying to tell me. Doesn’t that feel better already?Realignment is a reset. Going with the flow is aligning with your intuitive self, even when it feels unnatural. Our natural state is meant to be one of wellbeing – so anything not of that, isn’t natural. How do we rescript this?1. Press pause2. Observe your feelings3. Honor what comes up without judgment4. Hold off on automatic reactions5. Retell the story from a glass half-full perspective6. Refrain from pushing back7. Sit in stillness8. Trust that something else is coming in9. And then celebrate it when it arrives!I know that all this trust business sounds crazy when you want to control it all yourself (and pronto). When I let go of my resistance and went with the flow last week (albeit somewhat reluctantly) – some miracles converged and the outcome was far better than I had been orchestrating. This isn’t all about reliance upon thinking happy thoughts; however, when paired with action steps in communion with your purpose and passion, blank white canvases of possibility pop up. We get so wrapped up in the details of all the how’s and why’s. Don’t you like surprises and so called ‘coincidences’? Let’s make a pact to trust a bit more in ourselves and in the Universe…and get back in the flow. Flow is the where the magic, possibility and peace reside.