“You don’t need to drive 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 part proper. Planning. Controlling. Anticipating each consequence so I wouldn’t be caught off guard. I noticed life as a sort of puzzle: if I simply made the correct strikes in the correct 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 might burn out attempting to make issues occur. When one thing went mistaken, I blamed myself for not anticipating it. I couldn’t chill out as a result of I used to be all the time tightening the reins, attempting to steer the unknown.
Then someday, 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 after introduced me pure pleasure. As an alternative of peace, I felt caught and overwhelmed. My thoughts replayed each choice I’d revamped the previous few years like a courtroom drama. “If solely you’d achieved this.” “You must 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 towards the rocks. They didn’t care about me or my errors. They weren’t dashing or apologizing. They had been simply… doing their factor.
That’s when it hit me.
Nature doesn’t drive something. A wave doesn’t try to be taller. A tree doesn’t attempt to develop sooner. They exist in a sort 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 part?
It wasn’t a lightning bolt. It was extra like a smooth whisper inside. However one thing shifted.
I began asking myself a brand new query every morning: “What would occur at this time if I didn’t attempt to management something?”
I didn’t need to drive 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 seen one thing unusual. My nervousness began to fade—not all of sudden, however like a fog lifting. I ended catastrophizing each choice. I felt a little bit 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 will 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 seems to be like a setback is definitely an invite to realign. That readability usually comes if you cease chasing it.
There’s a belief that builds if you dwell this fashion.
You notice you don’t must have every part 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 neighborhood and connection slightly than perfection. I met individuals who impressed me just by being themselves. I even realized to point out up vulnerably, like I’m doing now, with no need every part to be polished or spectacular.
I nonetheless have moments the place I fall again into outdated habits—the place I attempt to drive outcomes or repair every part too shortly. However I catch myself sooner now. I’ve realized that rigidity is normally an indication that I’m out of the circulation.
In the event you’re in an area the place issues really feel arduous or disconnected, listed here are a number of light 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 permit ourselves to really feel confused and unsure.
- Hear greater than you analyze. As an alternative of attempting to drive solutions, sit along with your questions. Journal. Stroll. Let ideas come with no need to entice 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 if you’re quiet sufficient to listen to. However the secret’s 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 all the time select what occurs to us, however we will select how we meet life. With resistance—or with curiosity. With concern—or with belief.
Lately, I nonetheless sit by the ocean once I can. I nonetheless watch the waves. I remind myself that there’s a rhythm beneath every part—and that my solely actual job is to remain smooth 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 aware neighborhood. He writes about therapeutic, synchronicity, and aligning with divine circulation.
