Flow with it.

There are times in our lives... wait, scratch that. I hate entries that start out with that sentence. So I guess I will just start out by talking about my own personal experience and go from there...
Last year, as I'm sure I have discussed in great depth, was rough for me. But I needed it to be rough for me. I needed a push, or perhaps just a reminder, of what the other side of the fence looks like. I needed to learn lessons of patience, and lessons of humility, and more than anything I needed to learn to stop and look at what was really going on in and around me. Experiences like those are almost like a map. Or I guess a journal. We go through these trying situations and we remember (hopefully) what we did to jump the hurdles  where we faltered.
I read an article today about going with the flow, and really paying attention to what has and has not worked for us. Isn't life so often just a matter of really listening to ourselves? I mean REALLY listening- to our past, to our bodies, to our deep-rooted feelings... to turn down the congested noise around us and really pay attention to what we already know. You think of birds, for a strange example. Birds don't have GoogleMaps to tell them where or when to migrate. They just know. they were born with an intuitive knowledge of how to do exactly what they are supposed to do in order to survive. Humans are, at our core, the same way. I think that, more often that not, when we are looking for direction- we already have it. But in order to hone in the ability to listen to ourselves, we need to practice by overcoming obstacles. See: we need practice quieting our minds to hear that inner voice.

photo credit: unknown

That's what a lot of what I write about... stuff people already know. A lot of self-help is that way: it's: one person pointing out what you already know. That's why it's so identifiable and relate-able. That's why it's an "AHA!" Moment. If we can learn to listen to ourselves, and what we already know, then outside self-help would become obsolete and unnecessary.
Back to the article I was reading, I really enjoyed the concept of "going with the flow," because I felt like that has a history of being the time when I've always done my best. When I allow my life to be what it is, rather than trying to control everything around me, I am happier and more fulfilled. It's almost as if life waits for me to stop asking and searching in order to deliver me where I am supposed to be. It's sort of a spiritual thing, in a lot of ways. Almost like "stop telling me what you want and I'll give you what you need." It was when I stopped trying to be in charge of things that my life took charge (and got better), which was also sort of funny because I felt so much more peace being able to relax and take my hands off of everything.
There are a lot of components to what I believe makes a good approach to life. And I guess what I'm getting at is that I think a good portion of that is to just be who you are. You know who to be, and you know what to do. Shut up, once in a while. Lock yourself away from the chatter outside and take the time to listen to what your inner persona tells you to do. Your life is going to hand you a series of gifts, choices, whether you hunt them down or not. Relax and allow that to happen, and as comically "zen" as it sounds: everything will play out as it was always meant to.