Replenish

A few wispy clouds sit above the horizon in a mostly light blue sky. The coolness is welcome today at 58 degrees fahrenheit. Today is Friday.

Sometimes it is wise to move in the opposite direction from everyone else. Rather than jump into the prevailing flow, it might be interesting to see what happens when one moves "upstream" in order to encounter the power of the movement that is carrying so many others. It provides a different kind of tension, and the body facing into the wind has a very different experience than when the wind is at the body's back. Can't do it for long without having to rest and replenish.

In the course of replenishing, a different kind of reflection may emerge - one that provides instruction on what is to be done or not, next. Insight has to come from within. Conditions external can stimluate certain thoughts and actions, but ultimately what controls is that which comes from within.

Long ago, someone sate observing a group of people working in a kitchen, They were all there to help. Their purpose in that moment was to be useful to the task of cleaning after a meal that was served to several people. And as the energy grew and the pace of actions increased, the kitchen space began to get smaller and smaller. There were too many helpers and because the dominant desire was to be "helpful" everyone kept at their piece of the tasks at hand, eventually bumping into one another and literally almost falling over themselves to be helpful. It was getting dangerous. Finally, one person simply withdrew. The observer expressed quietly, thanks. An increasing risk of breakage or injury was avoided.

By withdrawing, more space was made. By stepping back, yielding, not engaging in the activity and flow in the kitchen space that was over run by helpful people - there was more room and therefore, a big help was given to the task at hand by NOT helping in that moment. The opened space gave others a way to do their part without bumping up against each other and a kind of replenishing happened for everyone - the helpers, the one who withdrew, and the observer (who was getting more nervous watching what was happening!).

Sometimes stepping back is not a retreat at all. It is a way to contribute something that most do not recognize in the moments of wanting to be helpful, useful, and productive. Sometimes the yielding and not inserting one's body, words, actions actually produces more good than remaining in the game.

We see this with people who have a fixed idea of what it means to live a productive life. The fixed notion actually doesn't match the conditions that are defined by change that is constant in all our lives. And when there is no recognition of the fact that one's greatest contribution might be to step back - this is when exactly the opposit of one's conscious intentions can happen. Such behavior takes away space for creativity and replenishment. The natural thing about moving in what might look like the opposite direction, is that it produces an opportunity to see and experience "energy" not materiality. This can be a life saver.