Lessons from Liquids

I have spent quite a bit of effort in my life being satisfied with what I have and where I am. As we all know, it is not easy to do. There will always be someone with a better car, a better job, a better hobby. (in all cases, replace better with "better") If we continue to look to others to judge our own success and state of achievement, we will always be found wanting.

I think one of the great struggles of life is learning to be happy. All of us are forever chasing that elusive state of contentment, where we want for nothing, enjoy everything. But so few of us ever seem to get there. What is required by the human spirit to be happy? I think first and foremost happiness requires that our human spirit overcomes our human frame. I speak here of the physical nature being subjected to the control of the mind/spirit. When I say physical nature, I am speaking of all of the base impulses of the human. Those impulses that are sometimes referred to as human nature. The desire to indulge in eating too much, the desire to be superior to another, the desire to live in luxury and exert power over those weaker than you. These are all examples of what I refer to as physical nature. If I were to use a judeo-christian synonym, I would call it carnal nature. I feel like this base greed is a big factor that pushes so many to "succeed" in the traditional American sense of acquiring money and possessions. But it is also what keeps us from being happy, no matter what our state of "success." If we want to be truly happy, we need to exercise the power of our mind. We need to be satisfied with what we have. We need to set reasonable goals and enjoy their achievement.

One element of this power of the mind over the carnal can be learned from water. (Incidentally, it can also be learned from the eastern philosophy of Taoism. But they just got it from water, so I am skipping the middle-man.) If you watch a stream flowing down a mountain, the water moves around or over any obstacles in its path. It doesn't protest them. The stream simply incorporates the rocks and obstacles into the path it must follow. Throw a rock, large or small, into the stream and see how the water reacts. It doesn't throw a fit or start complaining about this new problem. It just accepts the new obstacle and works around it. Simply, quietly, peacefully. If we could just learn to accept our problems and work around them, through them or over them without protest, we would be much happier.