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"Be water, my friend." ~Bruce Lee

In this week’s blog, I want to expand a bit more on the message behind the full quote I wrote about in this month’s Joy Matters newsletter from martial arts legend Bruce Lee. (By the way, if you don’t get my newsletter, you can easily sign up for it here.)

Here’s the quote:

“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless – like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

When I ran across this quote a few years ago, I immediately understood the magic behind Lee’s amazing martial arts abilities.  It was all about being flexible, going with the flow, surrendering instead of forcing.  And in my opinion, one of the fastest ways to remember your joy.  This is what I mean.

If you are someone who tends to have “control” as an operating system, you might get pretty rigid in your thinking.  You try to force things or people to behave the way you want.  But this rigidity only offers up resistance and this kind of effort kills the flow of joy that is your natural state of being.

You see, when you stop the flow, you stop the possibilities that await you. How can you follow the course of your life if you do not let it flow?

Large rocks in a stream

Close your eyes and visualize a stream flowing gently through a forest.  Smell the green.  Listen to the flow.  It is constant and continual.  It is flexible as it moves over rocks and around fallen branches. Now imagine yourself as a leaf being carried by the water.

Feel the ease.  Feel the peace.  Be one with the flow.  Be water.

Love from your Joy Mama,

Gloria Stewart signature

P.S.  Sign up for my monthly newsletter Joy Matters and receive my free eBook called 8 Barriers to Joy and Abundance to help you identify blocks that may be getting in the way of your joy.

And, if you enjoyed this blog post, you may also enjoy these:
Is lack of alignment one of your barriers to joy?
You can give the gift of presence
Is control getting in the way of your joy?

[image from Pixabay.com]

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