Being in Flow and Things that Go Bump in the Night

Being in flow means that you're in a state of non-resistance. When you're in this state things happen almost effortlessly and life feels tranquil. Bruce Lee once said:

"Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, 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."

Now, while I wouldn't say that my life is completely in flow, some recent events really helped to put my life into perspective. In particular, I was working on a project where, among other things, there was a lack of organisation, clarity and direction.

I felt myself becoming very frustrated and instead of flowing I was literally crashing. But, before I go into those details, let me tell you a story about something that happened to me when I was a little girl - things that go bump in the night.

We had just moved house and my sister and I were temporarily sharing a bed. I was sleeping on the outside and one night I fell out of bed not once but three times! The first time I fell the sound awoke my mother who came into the bedroom but I was already back in bed.

Puzzled my mum went back to her bed and then I fell the second time. Again my mum came into our room to investigate but everything was as it should be. Then I fell the third time. Now either I was slow this time or my mother was fast but this time she caught me climbing back into bed. She quickly assessed the situation and took remedial action. She made my sister and I swap places. Finally, everyone could get a good night's sleep.

So going back to my crashing - over the past couple of weeks I've fallen twice. It's been years since I've fallen and then twice in two weeks. On the first occasion I almost bounced back up and was off and running again. It was alomst funny. I'm pretty fit, strong and agile and so when I do hit the deck I don't need an 8-second count.

The second time I felt a sharp pain as my right knee hit the pavement first then my hands instinctively came down to break my fall (funny expression that). I could literally hear the air rush out of me.

I don't know if such an event has happened to you but time seems to slow down. I did a quick mental check kinda like in the sci-fi movies when you see cyborg checking its systems to assess damage. Yes, I was hurt but it didn't seem to be serious.

I pushed myself off the pavement and moved off again. I wasn't running this time though. I was hobbling. I changed route, veering off the main street and went down some back streets to give myself a chance to recover my gait.

I'm still recovering from that injury although it's not as bad as I first feared. However, movements that I used to do without even thinking about them I now have to adapt or not do at all. Fortunately, I can still teach my classes.

I didn't need to be told a third time - two falls was enough.

And you know the Universe has a way of giving you just what you need when you need it. So I'm no longer working on the project where I felt out of sync and I'm in the process of making some other changes to my life. I'm now in the process of getting back onto the main street of my life.

I like the analogy of being like water but I prefer being in flow to crashing.