Heather’s Journal: The River

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Greetings to SuperForesters everywhere,

You may or may not have heard of Kai Nagata and his recent manifesto. If the latter is true and you’re curious, you can check it out here.

Kai’s message centres mostly around his job and his recent choice to leave it, but he is definitely also speaking to a larger truth about life. After posting his manifesto, he received an insane amount of press, good and bad, so he posted a response on his blog. It was this response and its river metaphor that really got to me.

He said,

Sometimes I think of consciousness as a river. Most places, it’s armoured over with concrete, sometimes several layers thick. We’ve all heard about the river, and we all find ways to dip a bucket now and then. Some groups (my dad is a Zen Buddhist) have put years of hard work into building wells – reinforced, symmetrical structures, with sturdy rungs for those brave enough to climb down. Some people bottle that river water – and indeed some drugs and other shortcuts can remind you what consciousness tastes like. The river has always been there, and it’s still there, far under our feet.

Upon reading this, I felt I already “knew” the message in this metatphor, but the river had this way of making what I do know (or what I think I know) even clearer. I think this is because I’ve been becoming more aware in general lately and I’ve been noticing shifts around me. More and more people in my community are following their hearts, doing what they love and choosing their life choices instead of allowing life to choose for them. Signs are cropping up for me in the littlest ways, telling me I’m on the right path and that by opening my mind to a higher consciousness, I’m doing what’s best for me. The image of consciousness as a river really speaks to me — maybe because I’m a Pisces, maybe because it’s just a darn good metaphor! As we said in the SuperForest Humanifesto, consciousness can be a gift and a curse. These days I’m seeing it more as a gift: one that cleanses, renews and energizes me, much like a swim in the river would.

Let’s take this metaphor a bit further, SuperForest. We’re all in a boat together, floating down this river of consciousness. Like Kai mentioned, each person approaches the river in their own way. Recently I’ve been dipping my bucket into the river more and more, and it has made me keenly aware of those around me who are either afraid to get wet, or would prefer to ride along never once dipping a toe into the water. Everyone has their own journey and I respect it all. Some of us are thrashing around joyfully in the water, completely drenched. Others are laying on the surface, feeling the cool stillness of the healing waters around us. Some are bundled in lifejackets, afraid of even a little splash, and some are boat-builders, fixated on a safe journey, one in which they will never come in contact with the river, and they prefer it that way.

Kai continued,

They say water is one of the most powerful forces on earth. It can create and destroy. It can trickle for millenia through limestone caverns, finding a way under miles of desert. Or it can crash over the beach and sweep whole cities away. I guess we’ll see what this little spring turns into. I swung my pickaxe and stuck it in the ground. Then I sat down to rest. When I took my eyes off the horizon and looked down at the ground, I realized something was seeping out around the blade of the pickaxe. A tiny bit of sweet, clear water trickled out over the rocks. But it didn’t dry up, like I thought. Now there’s a little spring gurgling along, winding its way through the dust, carving a little channel as it goes along. It tastes amazing.

What about you, SuperForesters? Where are you in relation to the river of consciousness? Personally it’s taken me a while to get to the point where I’m dipping my bucket in, but much like Kai, I like the sweet taste of the water, and I can’t imagine ever putting that lifejacket back on. It’s been a year of personal transformation and growth, and it’s not over  yet. Through my Peacemaking Project, my blog-related activities, and experiences and conversations with family and friends (new and old), I’ve learned so much about myself, others, and what I want to create in my life. This is not to say that I’m so aware now and everyone who isn’t in my boat is far behind. I think we’re all traveling down this river at different speeds. I’m at the speed that’s right for me, you’re at the speed that’s right for you, someone like Deepak Chopra is cruising at his own speed, and that guy from high school who hasn’t seemed to change in 15 years is sailing along at his own pace. I honestly think whatever pace you’re sailing at, is the right one for you. As we go through life and paddle down this river, opening up our minds to more and more that the world has to offer, we continue to grow, flourish and stay fresh. It’s definitely not a race. I just hope by the time I get to the base of the river, I’m already sopping wet.

Yours in discovery,

SuperForester Heather