“You don’t need to power the circulation—typically your solely job is to melt and let go.” ~Unknown
For many of my life, I used to be obsessive about getting every little thing proper. Planning. Controlling. Anticipating each final result so I wouldn’t be caught off guard. I noticed life as a form of puzzle: if I simply made the precise strikes in the precise order, I’d get what I needed. Peace, success, love.
However life doesn’t work that approach.
The extra I attempted to manage it, the extra I felt out of alignment. I’d burn out attempting to make issues occur. When one thing went fallacious, I blamed myself for not anticipating it. I couldn’t loosen up as a result of I used to be at all times tightening the reins, attempting to steer the unknown.
Then sooner or later, one thing cracked.
It was the winter of 2021. I used to be staying in a quiet village in southern Portugal, attempting to piece my life again collectively after a painful breakup and the collapse of a startup I had poured years into. I’d gone there considering solitude and recent air would assist me reset.
However nothing felt proper.
I couldn’t focus. I couldn’t meditate. I couldn’t even benefit from the ocean—one thing that when introduced me pure pleasure. As a substitute of peace, I felt caught and overwhelmed. My thoughts replayed each resolution I’d revamped the previous few years like a courtroom drama. “If solely you’d accomplished this.” “It’s best to have seen that coming.” “You’ve ruined your shot.”
I sat on the seaside one night because the solar went down, feeling fully defeated. I bear in mind watching the waves crash rhythmically in opposition to the rocks. They didn’t care about me or my errors. They weren’t dashing or apologizing. They have been simply… doing their factor.
That’s when it hit me.
Nature doesn’t power something. A wave doesn’t attempt to be taller. A tree doesn’t attempt to develop sooner. They exist in a form of belief—a pure cooperation with life. And by some means, regardless of all that ease, they thrive.
What if I’m the one disrupting my very own circulation by attempting to manage every little thing?
It wasn’t a lightning bolt. It was extra like a delicate whisper inside. However one thing shifted.
I began asking myself a brand new query every morning: “What would occur right now if I didn’t attempt to management something?”
I didn’t need to power myself to do nothing. I nonetheless labored, moved, made choices. However I attempted to remain current slightly than 5 steps forward. I let myself really feel unsure with out reaching for options straight away. I listened extra—to myself, to life, to the quiet.
And over time, I observed one thing unusual. My anxiousness began to fade—not suddenly, however like a fog lifting. I finished catastrophizing each resolution. I felt a bit of extra at peace, even when nothing round me had modified.
That’s once I started studying what I now name divine circulation.
To me, divine circulation is the present of life that we are able to both resist or give up to. It’s not passive. It’s not about “doing nothing” or abandoning effort. It’s about cooperating with one thing deeper—one thing past simply logic or planning.
It’s studying to acknowledge that there are seasons for pushing and seasons for resting. That typically what appears like a setback is definitely an invite to realign. That readability typically comes whenever you cease chasing it.
There’s a belief that builds whenever you dwell this fashion.
You understand you don’t must have every little thing discovered. You’ll be able to nonetheless transfer ahead with intention—however with out gripping so tightly.
Since then, I’ve constructed a life extra aligned with who I’m. I began creating wellness occasions targeted on group and connection slightly than perfection. I met individuals who impressed me just by being themselves. I even discovered to point out up vulnerably, like I’m doing now, while not having every little thing to be polished or spectacular.
I nonetheless have moments the place I fall again into previous habits—the place I attempt to power outcomes or repair every little thing too shortly. However I catch myself sooner now. I’ve discovered that stress is normally an indication that I’m out of the circulation.
When you’re in an area the place issues really feel exhausting or disconnected, listed here are a number of mild invites that helped me reconnect with the circulation:
- Let your self really feel misplaced. You don’t must rush to “determine it out.” Typically essentially the most fertile development occurs within the areas the place we enable ourselves to really feel confused and unsure.
- Pay attention greater than you analyze. As a substitute of attempting to power solutions, sit along with your questions. Journal. Stroll. Let ideas come while not having to lure them.
- Launch the timeline. Issues don’t need to occur in your schedule. You’re not late. You’re not behind. You’re simply unfolding.
- Ask for indicators—however don’t cling to them. Typically life will whisper instructions whenever you’re quiet sufficient to listen to. However the bottom line is to hear with out expectation or stress.
- Come again to your breath. When your thoughts spirals, anchor into the current. One breath. One step. One second.
We will’t at all times select what occurs to us, however we are able to select how we meet life. With resistance—or with curiosity. With worry—or with belief.
As of late, I nonetheless sit by the ocean once I can. I nonetheless watch the waves. I remind myself that there’s a rhythm beneath every little thing—and that my solely actual job is to remain delicate sufficient to really feel it.
Perhaps that’s all we ever wanted to do.
About Marc Rice
Marc Rice is the founding father of VibeTribe.io, a platform for acutely aware occasions and conscious group. He writes about therapeutic, synchronicity, and aligning with divine circulation.