Flow like Water…Stand like Mountain

Flow like Water…Stand like Mountain.

It’s probably one of the oldest saying and a very good one too, if I may say so. So, what does that have to do with today’s post? Well…OK. You caught me…I’m still working on that. :-)

I’ve talked before about stress and how we manage to make our lives a LOT more difficult than they need to be. We seem to like the drama that invades our lives. Maybe it gives us something to talk about at work. But does it HAVE to be this way? No, I don’t think so. But it actually takes a change in our mindsets HA! That’s what the quote is for! :-) Let’s go through it together.

Flow like Water…

Ever sat and watched a small river? Better yet, a brook or stream? Ever seen a stream formed after a rain storm? Next time it rains, go out to a park with a bit of a hill in it. Watch as the water gathers at the top, then begins to flow down the hill. As it comes to a barrier, it simply sloshes to one side and keeps going on. Eventually, even that barrier is going to be worn down and the water will have a much straighter path down. Very few obstacles block water from flowing... Oh sure, I can hear the grumblers out there now. “Hey, what about a bottle, doofus! Or a pool!” Yes…some idiot can always come up with something in an attempt to derail the thoughts

But follow with the thought for a bit. I want you to “Flow like Water”. So, what, exactly, do I mean by that? When life starts to ride up on ya, let it go, don’t fight, don’t argue, don’t flail, just flow right around it. If you need to, change directions for a little while. The point is to flow around all the little things that life tries to put in your way. I like the demonstration that Stephen Covey does. He takes a large, clear, empty bucket and has 3 other buckets filled with rocks. One has big rocks, another small rocks, and the last sand. He will then ask someone from the audience to fill the empty bucket with the contents of all three buckets. So, the volunteer usually tries to pour all the small rocks in and then can’t fit all the large rocks, let alone the sand. Covey then tells them to start with the large rocks and arrange them all in. Then they pour the small rocks in, filling the holes around the large rocks. And finally, the sand. And it ALL fits. What’s the point of this? Priorities. Figure out what is most important to you and do that first. Then worry about the minor things, and if you have the time and energy, look to the sands. It’s really the same thought. Flow like Water…

Stand like Mountain…

OK, you all should be able to figure this one out. :-) So, if you’re working this right, then you’re flowing like water. OK…I’ll wait, go to the bathroom and flow. OK…feel better now? So what does it mean to “Stand like Mountain”? Well, I can make it kind of simple here. You need to flow around the troubles and stress of life, but stand firm in what you believe in.

Everyone has things that are important to them. Convictions that are held so close as to be a part of that persons thinking and feeling process. And the beautiful thing is; everyone’s different. What’s important to me might not be important to you, and vice versa. But the important thing is that what is the most important to YOU is what you need to be unshakeable on. No one should ever be able to persuade you to come away from what you believe the most in. In the face of the strongest of storms, the mountain remains impassive and solid in its own strength of foundation.

Be like the mountains and live like the waters. I know you can do it!


We lift ourselves by our thought, we climb upon our vision of ourselves. If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself. Hold the ideal of yourself as you long to be, always, everywhere - your ideal of what you long to attain - the ideal of health, efficiency, success.

Orison Swett Marden (1850 - 1924)