Flow Within Each Moment
Have you ever noticed that sometimes your level of exhaustion comes from resisting the reality of your current situation?
Often, we’ve learned that success requires us to try harder, always be doing, force outcomes, and bulldoze through obstacles. Or we perpetually ruminate over past events that could have gone better. This constant state of high tension may leave our nervous systems completely depleted.
What might happen if you stopped trying to force your way through the obstacles in your path, and instead learned to flow around them?
Verse 8 of my new book, Embodying the Tao, explores the somatic brilliance of water. Water is supple and yielding, yet it at times carves canyons through quiet, effortless persistence. Here is the translation and practice to help you cultivate that same fluid resilience.
Verse 8: The Way of Water
Unfettered generosity is like water
Water nourishes all beings, and yet
Water has depths humans find disquieting
In this way, water is like the Tao
Harmonize with the nature of things
When creating a home, be close to the land
When meditating, connect with your heart
When dealing with others, be patient and kind
When speaking, be honest
When leading, be trustworthy
When working, be skillful and aware of right timing
When the wise sage harmonizes with nature
No conflicts arise
She flows within each moment
Living life in balance
Reflection
Today’s society often expects us to behave like fire—shining brightly and consuming everything in our path. We are constantly encouraged to reach the top of the mountain, to be highly visible, and to exert our power.
But Verse 8 reminds us that the most enduring power in the universe acts like water. Water doesn’t compete for the high ground; instead, it flows to the lowest points, nourishing everything it touches along the way. It is generous, quietly giving life to the forest without asking for anything in return.
Operating in a frantic, fire-like mode often places you in conflict with your environment. You may be forcing your way to a specific outcome or trying to scale the peak faster than your peers, which depletes your biological reserves and spikes your stress hormones. In contrast, Verse 8 teaches that true influence comes from harmonization. Winning is not important, for it involves ego; harmony is important.
When you embody the qualities of water, such as honesty, kindness, and trustworthiness, conflict arises less frequently. When you flow in each moment, you are not faking it to make it; you are living authentically, allowing the ripples from life’s challenges to ultimately settle into stillness. By choosing the balanced, water-like path of humility and presence, you ironically become the most vibrant force in the room.
Somatic Invitation
Find a comfortable standing position with your feet together. Place your hands on your abdomen, over your lower tan tien. Take a few deep breaths, allowing your belly to expand as you inhale and gently pull toward your spine as you exhale.
On your next inhalation, let your hands drift upward from your sides, palms down, to shoulder level. Imagine you are drawing earth’s nourishing energy upward through the soles of your feet. Exhale and turn your palms upward while letting your arms drift downward about a foot. Visualize yourself as a lotus blossom pushing up through the mud, moving through those disquieting depths with ease.
Inhale and draw your hands, palms up, into the air, pulling them together over your head as if you are gathering the energy of the starry cosmos. With your palms together, slowly draw your hands down past your face, throat, and chest, then back to your belly. As they descend, imagine this universal energy washing through your central meridian, settling the dust of your thoughts and harmonizing your internal rhythm.
Repeat this cyclical flowing arm movement for three minutes. As you finish your movements, notice the warmth in your palms. You have activated your qi and are now flowing within the present moment—grounded, vibrant, and in balance.
Silently say for yourself: I choose to connect with my inner still waters and live life in balance.
