The River Story

Life is a lot like a river. 

 

In order to grasp this concept, first let's examine the similarities between a well lived, successful, happy life and bodies of moving water: 

1)       Passion: To us, passion is something that gives one purpose, joy, an escape, a release, a reference point, community and cohorts, understanding, direction, and foundation. To a river, passion revolves around one thing- getting downhill, to the ocean.

2)       Direction: Rivers use their passion to guide them to the ocean; they have direction in their "life." Though sometimes they wind slowly through valleys or crash and roar through mountains, they know where they’re going. People with passion(s) use it in the same way. Often you can feel lost or stressed or meaningless, but with a passion, we are rooted and defined. We can better tell where to go in life and how to deal with problems that arise.

These two aspects are in my mind the foundation of being- aqueous or human. A stretch I know, but let me explain. 

Rivers represent a passionate life.  They have direction and a goal-to find the straightest, fastest way to the ocean. Rivers make wide, snaking bends and meander across valleys and swamps seemingly lost, but then they’ll find a clue, a path and it will send them shooting down rapids with veracity and intent until they hit a metaphorical mountain range-another challenge, “do I go through them or around them?”  One option takes a long time of slow wondering, and the other takes a long time of arduous work-but either way, they’ll make it past their troubles. Rivers follow their passions; they set a specific goal and they overcome all obstacles that face them.  Even dams can’t totally contain them, they MUST accomplish their goal.  They represent good times and bad times; hard times and exciting times-they seem to carry on emotions and lives of their own just as we do, especially if you take time to know them through recreation and study.

The better we can mold our lives into a perpetual motion, the better we can define our passion and find our direction in life. Then come slow and meandering portions of life we can reassure our self that we just need to keep going, soon we’ll find a path again. Then come the rapids and falls, when we reach the pinnacle of excitement and achievement, letting loose our full potential. Then the ocean, the fulfillment, the absolute climax of our great river where our full potential becomes absolute and the hard work pays off. Without passion rivers lose their path and end in a lake or even dry up. 

Passion is the defining component. And that is why life is like a River.