"Every Little Thing"

If only life was exactly like a Bob Marley song - "Don't worry 'bout a thing - every little thing is gonna be alright".  Is this song not about embracing and "going with the flow"?  Arguably, without flow the very essence of life would not be able to continue.  "Going with the flow" is what makes life less stressful, it helps us cope with the day-to-day and helps us to preserve relationships.

Take for example a busy work environment - without flow and without the ability to "go with the flow" would you survive or become a stress case unable to deal with tiny little things?  I would tend to argue that the ability to embrace this type of flow is what makes one successful.  I would argue that the strongest leaders in today's world are those that can simply continue to go with the flow despite what challenges are thrown at them.

As I began to contemplate this post I began to become a lot more conscious on my own ability to "Go with the Flow".  What did I discover?  Here is a synopsis of my week - a week of consciously embracing FLOW.

Friday

On Friday my brother, one of my sisters and her boyfriend all headed out to meet our cousins for a road trip to Star Lake, BC.  As we caravaned through Hope, Merrit and Kamloops I was conscious of my ability to literally flow through our province at higher than normal speeds.  Splitting the driving with my brother we didn't really know how to get to our final destination but kept up with our cousin who knew the way.  I felt that our ability to "Go with the Flow" was good because we were able to trust our cousin to lead us to our final destination where she had been several times before.  I love having the ability to venture somewhere unknown partially blind.  It is getting lost that you often encounter hidden treasures.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday

The weekend found us at Star Lake Resort.  This is a great little spot where I had never been before.  While there we embraced "Flow" and also got see some awesome embodiments of how the earth deals with flow.   For the most part, we took it easy and enjoyed the company of family.  I believe that spending time with your family is probably the best place to test your ability to "go with the flow".  I would say we all managed to cope very well being in close quarters and had a fantastic time!  We had very few arguments and we got to experience lots of wonderful things such as seeing Helmcken Falls in Wells Grey Park, venturing to a buffalo farm in search of buffalo mozzarella (of which we got a very strange reaction and no mozzarella from the farmers - too bad Jacqueline) and even hiking through the beautiful West Coast rainforest together.

I don't get the opportunity to spend time with my extended family like I did over this weekend and it was great - just like when we were kids just with a little less energy.  Without the ability to embrace flow we would have wanted to plan every moment.  Instead we went with the flow and were not disappointed by not being able to do all of the outlined tasks.

Tuesday

Tuesday I went to a food cart with friends for lunch.  I embraced "going with the flow" as we chose the cart that we wanted to go to. I find that it doesn't really matter where you go for lunch as long as you have good company!

Wednesday

On Wednesday I played softball with one of the teams that I play on The Spirits.  This team has taught me a lot about "going with the flow".  All of the individuals on this team are there to have fun.  Sure they like to win, but they are just as happy just to get out there and be able to play!  Playing ball at several different levels over the years it is refreshing to see the spirit that is in each and every one of the players on this team.  Playing at higher levels sometimes you forget why we play - we play to have fun.  This team definitely has fun!  Their ability to "go with the flow" and learn from their mistakes is incredible and inspiring!

On Wednesday we ended up calling 9-1-1 at our game when a girl was hit in the head with a ball.  A fluke accident that left her with a concussion and 7 stitches, the ability of all of the players there to "go with the flow" and act quickly to get the injured player help was impressive.  It is times like these that I remember why I am on a team and how teams help you by supporting you no matter what.

Thursday

I had an incredible day on Thursday and I think it was because I spent the whole week thinking about my ability to "go with the flow"!  As I was thrown multiple challenges at work I accepted and incorporated them and was able to produce a great product.

I embraced spontaneity on my way home and explored my new neighbourhood.  Venturing to Whole Foods and finding a new fresh, local market on my way home I bought some new foods to try.  I was excited to get home and try the new foods.  I went to turn on the stove for the first time and poof - no spark.  Oh well - I went with the flow and ate a salad instead.

What a week!  I observed and learned when I am more or less inclined to "go with the flow".  Just remember "Don't worry 'bout a thing" and "Go with the Flow" and everything will be alright!

I would like to put the challenge out there to our readers – observe how you incorporate flow in the everyday.  They say the first step towards change is awareness – how successful are you at incorporating “Flow” into your day to day?