Going with the Flow – Taoist and Zen Approaches

Today’s Taoist Question with a Zen Twist

Is it ok to just go with the flow?

Am I giving myself more work or a hard time by picking a concrete direction in order to make life a little more digestible?

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Go With the Flow

To go with the flow can make things easier, especially in the short term. However, for the long-term sometimes “go with the flow” choices may not get a person to higher points of their life, which require extra work/awareness to achieve. Yes, at times a person might want to climb a mountain or have to swim upstream against some flows. Of course, there are also times we have to move crosswise to rip tides to survive and thrive in your nature.

In other words: there isn’t a single flow around us, but many different currents and possibilities to follow.

Which one is best? No one is best, they are all different and offer various options in life. Understand certain paths are more “Graceful“.

At times we do make hard choices to go counter to the flow of life around us.

In this, it’s important to trust your inner instincts to differentiate between following your flow compared to the flows around your life. In Taoism, we teach a person how to refine the ability called the “third eye“. The third eye represents the ability to sense and feel potential around you. Awareness of potentials allows a person to more clearly sort out which flows can assist your life to become more graceful and which currents sweep you away from your essence.

Choosing direction in life is more of an art than a science. When people make choosing life paths a science, they make life predictable and repeatable. Flow often means following examples of others as guides. Yet following others is disadvantageous as it promotes living the same old life, without freshness. However, society pushes people down predictable paths, as a predictable way reinforces the repeatable patterns that support society itself.

The real choice becomes: Are you making life… your own?

Many people just stay down a comfortable course to reduce conflict. If you go with the social flow, you also reduce the social conflict you will encounter. However, this often increases the inner conflict a person feels by going further away from their center. Likewise, to become your own person entirely increases the chances of facing social conflict against others who want to shape your life to make their life more comfortable.

Going with the flow is a deep part of Taoism. A Taoist moves with the flow using a deep awareness of all the flows around us.

You have many choices on which flow to work with in life.

A Taoist won’t hesitate to follow a graceful path even if it’s harder or longer path. Our choices are those that fully expand a life, as our own story. Understand there isn’t a single path that defines us perfectly, more to say, we always go with the flow that allows us to live completely.

Now the Zen Twist

In Zen, the twist is this: you always flow to release.

In Zen practice this means, you work with the flows which are a step under the flows around you.

Ultimately, flowing in a manner that releases all flows.

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