The Flow of a Stream

Sometimes we find that the streams of our lives can run into frozen winters. Yet, beneath the surface, the waters run deep. Klemens Tilmann found a profound symbolism in a little stream. The stream was only about four yards wide, but the water was in constant movement. Parts of the stream were frozen over and large areas of ice had become covered by the energetic flow of the water above. But the water flowing beneath the flat surfaces of ice was full of bubbles, dancing and vibrating.

The water of the stream sometimes encountered obstacles, and at other times flowed freely. Sometimes it ran in the opposite direction to the current only to later join the mainstream. All these different processes were observed by Tilmann who was impressed by the water’s obedience to its own essential being.

Tilmann saw in this little stream the symbol of his own life and the symbol of what all human life on this earth is meant to be. Every good action that we perform is determined by two factors: perfect obedience to our own inner being and perfect response to the situation in which we find ourselves. The stream responded everywhere — to the valley, to the bed of the stream, to the stones, the temperature and the weather.

Depending on circumstance, our lives can be like valleys, like stones or like dams that impede further movement. Yet, like the water in the stream, our lives are meant to run on, through choices in obedience to our own inner nature and quest and in obedience to the circumstances that may either expand or circumscribe our lives.

Source: Economic Times, 1/08/18