You Are Not A Straw

One morning after watching Del drive off to his work in the woods, I headed to my home office to do my work. I had already taken care of answering pressing emails, and I was all set to do my writing for the day.

Writing is not a simple or easy thing to do. Being a writer sounds romantic, but in reality, it’s hard. Most days, I have to “make” myself do it. Massive resistance is almost always in place and has to be overcome.

Sometimes I overcome it by admonishing myself. It sounds something like this, “I don’t want to hear that you don’t feel like it. Put your phone down. No, you’re not hungry. Stop checking emails. Just sit down and don’t get up until your word count for the day is done.”

If that discussion with myself doesn’t work, I will remind myself that I promised others I would do it. This usually works so well I can go on from there. I might be willing to break a promise to myself, but I’m never willing to break one to another. That’s why I announce what I am doing. When I say,“I promise,” I will get it done for you!

If that doesn’t work, I will resort to bribery. Maybe I’ll say to myself, “Write five hundred words, and you can take fifteen minutes to read.” I have more than one bribe I can use, but that’s one of my favorites. Plus it goes along what everyone says, “if you want to be a writer, you have to be a reader.” Could there be a better excuse for allowing myself the joy of reading? Nope. Don’t think so.

Anyway, that morning, I was ready to write, not excited about it, because excitement before starting to write is a rare feeling. I have to start writing first, then the excitement comes. But no need to resort to bribery, or even words of encouragement. I was ready.

But my computer wasn’t. While I was away from it, it had shut itself off and started again.

“Hum. What’s this about?” I asked myself. I wasn’t asking why the computer did that, although if it did it again, I would have to find out why, but what was it trying to tell me?

Am I supposed to shut down and restart? Since I wasn’t sure what it meant, I logged in and noticed that I had quite a few messages that my computer needed some updates. Oh. Perhaps my trusty computer is dragging because I haven’t taken the time to update it, take care of it.

Like me. I was dragging. I needed an update. I needed to restart.

Signs and symbols right in front of me, just waiting for me to notice.

So I did a different day than I planned. I updated the computer, and I updated me.

While I was updating, taking time to relax and restart, I thought about how much I think and write about spirituality and spiritual perception. Yet, sometimes I don’t feel as if it is sinking into me or making a difference.

It occurred to me that I was acting like a straw. The words I was saying and thinking were how water moves through a straw. The words go somewhere, but the straw never changes.

Perhaps this is why so many people have beautiful words to say but don’t live them. They are straws.

So I decided that I needed to stop identifying myself as a straw, as the deliverer of the water. I needed to see myself as the water. Without the straw. I am not the straw through which the water flows. I am the water.

You are not the straw. You are the water. You and I. We are the water. We flow. Without constraint.

The next day, I was back at my computer, refreshed and thinking about being water. Not becoming, not trying to get somewhere, but being.

So these are my words of wisdom for the day.

Take the time to update and restart yourself. Thoughts have time to bloom during those moments of reflection. And for God’s sake, don’t think you are a straw.

You are the water. Like me. Together. That is a very different life to be living. Live it as the straw, or be the water? You know the answer.