When I woke up this morning, I noticed that the swelling around the big toe on my right foot noticeably had decreased. It didn't feel as stiff and it didn't hurt half as much as the night before. "Hey, I'm turning the corner," I thought to myself. So, I leapt out of bed and...quickly realized my ankle is still swollen. In my enthusiasm of feeling a tad bit better, my ankle almost caved in underneath me.
I'm certain that anyone reading about this mundane episode can readily identify. When we have been off our game -- due to illness or injury -- we can't wait for our life to return to "normal". The moment we appear not to feel so punkish, we have a tendency to try rush our recovery, to get back in the swing of things. It's not uncommon at all to rush back into the fray too soon and to suffer a relapse or re-injury.
Every aspect of life has a course it needs to run. Every stream has its own current. Every situation and circumstance has its own flow.
Flow is something that Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu address frequently. They remind us that it does little good to try to push against the flow because the flow of life always pushes back. When we try to take shortcuts and circumvent the laws of the cosmos, nature usually wins out in the end.
Each time we try to disregard this basic lesson, we suffer.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
I'm certain that anyone reading about this mundane episode can readily identify. When we have been off our game -- due to illness or injury -- we can't wait for our life to return to "normal". The moment we appear not to feel so punkish, we have a tendency to try rush our recovery, to get back in the swing of things. It's not uncommon at all to rush back into the fray too soon and to suffer a relapse or re-injury.
Every aspect of life has a course it needs to run. Every stream has its own current. Every situation and circumstance has its own flow.
Flow is something that Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu address frequently. They remind us that it does little good to try to push against the flow because the flow of life always pushes back. When we try to take shortcuts and circumvent the laws of the cosmos, nature usually wins out in the end.
Each time we try to disregard this basic lesson, we suffer.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
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