"What's It All About?"

It is the great fluctuations in life that offer the most challenges. I think if there is one skill that serves people better than any other, it is the ability to "go with the flow."

I see this in nature too. The tree that can bend in the wind does not break during tornadoes and ice storms. The plants with long willowy stems survive the vagaries of the pond. As beautiful as the stately oak can be, it can come crashing down onto the top of my car, creating untold problems.

Of course when that oak was a sapling, it bent just as much as any tree. Even the icebergs ability to float around becomes more problematic as it grows from a tiny chunk in the ocean to a mountain of a landmark whose fractures are so magnificent, people go to watch.

What is the difference between the tragic uprooting of the oak tree and the awesome disintegration of the iceberg? I think in most cases it is only that the tree is perceived as alive and the iceberg as an inanimate object, but for me there is a little more. The tree that falls on a house, or car, or even the ground, looks broken to me. It appears that its usefulness in this world is over. It will no longer provide shade, or acorns, or any of those things I associate with oak trees. The iceberg never seemed to have a real purpose to me and even if it did, I see the parts that break off, floating away in the sea, Not useless, or ruined, just freed and smaller, almost given a second chance in the great ocean of life around it. Of course the tree is often still very useful as wood if someone chooses to use it.

In the end it is all pretty much the same thing. Perception, understanding and the ability to move on into what comes next defines the quality of being. I don't know about trees and icebergs, but I know human beings "are" on many different levels. As one, or more of these levels begin to disintegrate, the stability of the others comes into play. It is the honing of these different levels, these human abilities, that defines each one of us as a unique part of this whole.

It seems to me that the simpler the needs, the longer something lasts, but longevity is not everything. A candle that never burns is only a decoration and that is okay, but generally not as interesting, and useful, as one whose flame flickers and dances, providing light and warmth, and inspiration. Or, in more human terms, my friend, Marian comes to mind. Her death, her final "being" on this earth, at least the last part I could see and be part of, was one of the most incredible times in my life. Even her final disintegration provided opportunities for everyone around her, and her too, to grow and learn and be, on levels most of us had never before touched on.

Being able to "go with the flow" allows me to be aware of and gain a deeper understanding of just what this thing called life is. When I am not afraid to hold onto some things and let go of others, I gain the most amazing insights. Each one a step closer to the light that warms me from the inside out and I think that might be what it's all about