Buoyed by the river of life

 Ancient wisdom: Stand on the banks of a river and watch the bodies of your enemies float by.

For Your Consideration

Buoyed by the river of life, celebrate each bank as it passes.

 This is not a panacea.  This is the work of living.  This is the living of life.

Swimming in any river, however buoyant, is still a great deal of orientation.  We have to find out where we are now.  Then decide where we are headed.  In what direction will our Journey, Walk, Steam, Retreat, et al take us.  

We quickly realize the importance of active navigation.  If we rely only on Life's river we will be not so gently tumbled through rapids. We could easily be thrown against boulders.  Yes, there are rapids and boulders in everyone's life yet we are empowered to make healthy and wise decisions. 

Making and then acting on our good decisions takes discipline.  My working definition is: Personal Accountability demonstrated over a significant amount of time.  We cannot just dip our big toe into the river and expect to have an epiphany.  A second takes a second, a minute takes 60 seconds, etcetera.  Time takes time.  A significant amount of time takes a significant amount of time.

In order to maintain a Stay-The-Course attitude it requires stamina.  For me this means prolonged physical as well as mental/intellectual activity.  The work I am doing right now, writing this.  This is the work that each of us does everyday.  This is the day-to-day living of our everyday lives.  This is the ability to endure, to get up in the morning, make my bed and then move on with ... the work of everyday life.

I told you, 'This is not a panacea.'  That was just the Buoyed by the river of life part.  Now let's look at the celebrate each bank as it passes part ...

The wandering mendicant and his young acolyte.

In their journey the old man and the young man came to a river crossing.  There they found a young girl standing patiently, looking at the far shore.  Without hesitation the old man approached the girl and asked, "Do you wish to cross the river?"

The girl said that she did.  At once the old man picked her up and carried her across the river.  Reaching the far shore he set the girl down gently and waited for the young man.  The acolyte hastened to cross.

After the men had traveled on some distance the younger man became vexed.  He pointedly asked, "I thought we were not supposed to hold members of the opposite sex, particularly children?"

The elder countered gently, "Are you still carrying her?"  He let out a long slow breath and continued, "I let go of her at the river bank."

 Even if the moment of the bank seems harsh we are called to celebrate its passing.  We are asked to recognize the transient nature of events, on the bank, and then let go of them as we pass by ... Buoyed by the river of life.