The Strength of Water

"Nothing in the world is more flexible than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful. Everyone knows this, but no one can do it."Lao Tzu (c.604 - c.53/BCE), from the Tao Te Ching, China

Have you ever tried walking across a river? My husband's a fly fisherman and, a few years ago, he decided that we needed to cross the Madison River, in Yellowstone, so we could fish & picnic on the other side. So, we both started out with our walking staffs, hoping they would tame the wild water & allow us to cross. My knuckles were white, not only from hanging onto the walking stick, but from fear as we made our way carefully across the river. There were many times when I thought I was going to fall, be rushed downstream & slammed into a large rock. Lukily, although the water was powerful, it wasn't deep, so we did make it across, but I have a very healthy respect for rushing water & hope to avoid crossing another river. I'll just fish & picnic on the "safe" side of the river.

Have you tried paddling out to catch a wave when the surf is coming in? Have you tried swimming

against the tide? Water is stronger than we are. We cannot conquer it. We may be able to channel its' strength at times but, when it comes right down to it, we have to change our actions in order to work with.

Live Every Minute

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." Mahatma Gandhi

My mom didn't live as if she was going to die the next day, but she certainly learned as if she was going to live forever. She was constantly reading, listening to informational shows on the radio, watching documentaries on TV, etc. She started emailing when she was close to 80 and was still making greeting cards, on the computer, for friends who needed a cheerful note, when she was 83 years old. She wasn't content to just sit and watch the world go by. She was constantly absorbing knowledge and sharing that knowledge with others. And, most importantly, she didn't merely exist for the 84 years that she was on this earth. She lived every minute of it.