Water vs. Rock

"People don't resist change. They resist being changed!"

— Peter Senge

This is really so true if you think about it. If the change in our life is our idea we are very happy with it aren't we? But what if the change is an obstacle we didn't choose and that is steering us away from the life we were planning. In some ways we can choose the direction of our life but sometimes we can't. Sometimes to get to that life we dreamed or try to get there we have to stop resisting. We have to move with change and not against it. Accepting things as they are. If you think of it like water. Water is one of the strongest things on earth if not the strongest. But its strength lies in its flexibility and persistence. And really that is how life is. We may not always get what we want right away. We may have to work for it. But if we stand firm and resist we may never be able to penetrate the obstacle we face but yet if we are flexible and move with it we may just be able to sneak through the cracks. Look at a boxer for instance, if the boxer stands firm he will get hit and risk defeat. But if he moves with the punches, flowing in between them he can get out of the way and in the end suffer less and stand longer through the fight. This task is not easy but with practice we will find less resistance and with that greater strength to endure what we must and cherish what we can. 

"Pain is a relatively objective, physical phenomenon; suffering is our psychological resistance to what happens. Events may create physical pain, but they do not in themselves create suffering. Resistance creates suffering. Stress happens when your mind resists what is... The only problem in your life is your mind's resistance to life as it unfolds."

-  Dan Millman