Be Like Water
“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.
Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and 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.”
― Bruce Lee
I have always loved the water.
As a child I spent many summers at the lake. This love continued during my undergraduate and PA school years as I basked in the sun and walked in the sand while ocean waves lapped at my feet.
Water soothes me. It makes me feel free as I float effortlessly on its surface. The sounds of a heavy rain, babbling brook or rushing waterfall always lull me into a peaceful rhythm and place of calm. Nothing matters when I’m in or near water. It heals and comforts.
As I moved through the first two decades of my career as a PA, I somehow lost that free flowing form.
I let work and stress consume me. I became stiff and rigid as I resisted the difficulties of the world and the challenges of life. I was the complete opposite of formless and lost the ability to find my way through. What resulted was more stress and complete burnout.
I was no longer like the water I loved so much.
It’s easy to lose focus and try to control the world around us. We bristle at change and grip tightly to things that are beyond our control until eventually we are left exhausted and frustrated.
Water will always find its way through. It can weave through rocks and seep through cracks to find its path. Droplets coalesce. It nourishes and brings life. Though it may look calm on the surface, underneath there is a plan of action and constant state of flow. Water will always find its way.
I encourage you to be more like water. Embrace what challenges you face with an open awareness and skilled plan of action rather than try to resist it. Remain adaptable when the surface becomes rough and know that you are stronger than any of your fears.
Be like water my friends and let it nourish your beautiful life.
Take care & be well.
Laura