An original poem about the ebbs and flows of life as inspired by a trip to Yosemite with my son and a long ride on a yart admiring the many phases of the river along the way:
You can never step in the same river twice
Nor can you step in the same life twice
There’s a beginning and end
But once it begins to flow, there’s no turning back
You can try to move upstream
Face the resistance that wants to be left alone
Your past
You can rush forward relentlessly
In a mad passion to reach an unknown pinnacle
The future
But the journey is easier in the flow
The now
Have you ever noticed a river’s course?
At times, it looks like it might end, its narrow way struggling against rock to stay alive
At other points, its wide and expansive, rushing in the vortex of its own wonder
There’s the rapids when it goes to fast and crashes into everything in its path without care
And the mighty waterfall where unexpected drops throw off our game
Leading to the whirlpool spiraling out of control
All of it at once
That resistance of the past versus the flow of the future
Battling it out to see who wins the present
Neither do
It’s only when it reaches the peak of calmness does it balance in serenity
Not too wide and fast
Not too narrow and restricted
Just flowing every which way as guided by a wiser force
It cannot control its path any more than we can control life
But we can adjust our flow and find the beauty in all the twists, turns, and drops
Be cool. Be warm.
Be playful and splash.
Be rough and dangerous.
Be explorers of our own rush and still.
Just as long as we are us.
And cease trying to step in the same place twice.