Flow
Flow - Photograph by Michele Walker
“ I want to flow like that, past the block to drop into the Mystery, holding the light of me as I flow into the darkness that holds infinite possibility. ”
There is something about flow that speaks to the core of me and permeates everything. On my wander today - the intentional listening walks in wildish spaces- I brought a question “Where do I see flow being blocked and how is flow reestablishing itself?” Today I literally found flow with the sun shining and the snow and ice melting. The flow of water is dripping off buildings, running down the street, collecting in puddles or finding their way down a drain. But there is also the blocking of flow when the storm drain hasn’t been cleared, or the sunlight doesn’t quite reach or the ice and snow is too deep and the cold keeps the flow prisoner.
I have been looking at what stops flow in my life, limiting beliefs that became engrained, often when I was quite young, and then reinforced in a number of large and small ways throughout the years. Sometimes looking at those beliefs is difficult because just by seeing them they change the picture and the story of who I am. As many of us are experiencing, change is a constant in our world right now and we want something, anything, to stay stable. But I don’t think that is what I need. I think I need to learn how to be in the flow and sometimes that means bumping right up to the blocks. I need to sit with those blocks and look at them, I mean really look at them. My ego will say that it is too uncomfortable to look at a block, maybe even dangerous, but we fear what we don’t know. Allowing myself to get to know this aspect of me will make room for the compassion, gratitude and love needed to melt that block and restart the flow, just like sunshine melting ice and snow.
I loved finding this branch positioned nearly perfectly to block the flow of the ice and snow melt next to the storm drain. I find when I intentionally listen to nature I see things differently and taking a photo often amplifies this. I will reflect on the photo - turning it to see what pops out that my mind didn’t catch yet. Then playing with the filters brings out something more. In this photo the flow has found a way under the branch to run into the darkness of the storm drain but just before it drops the sunlight is caught in the drip of water. I want to flow like that, past the block to drop into the Mystery, holding the light of me as I flow into the darkness that holds infinite possibility.