Surrendering to the current

As I was cleaning off my desk this morning, I came upon an old-school black and white printed copy of this quote. I have no memory of who gave it to me or the context in which I received it, but as is often the case with such things, it resonated deeply with me when I rediscovered it today.

Here it is, from poet and farmer Wendell Berry:

There are, it seems, two muses: the Muse of Inspiration, who gives us inarticulate visions and desires, and the Muse of Realization, who returns again and again to say, “It is yet more difficult than you thought.” This is the muse of form. It may be then that form serves us best when it works as an obstruction, to baffle us and deflect our intended course. It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.

It can be so tempting to wish for a straight path, an easy road, a calm and flat river to carry us through life. But even the most tranquil rivers hold unseen currents. Even a seemingly ease-ful life may hold challenges we cannot guess at.

So much in this world is beyond our ability to anticipate or comprehend. Problems don’t always have answers, at least not straightforward ones. We face global challenges like climate change and ecocide that are beyond any quick fix; and yet at the same time, our own lives are unfolding, our own rivers are carrying us to unexpected boulders, surprise waterfalls, unseen bends. A drought weakens us; heavy rains flood us.

At lot of the time when I come upon an unknown bend, I know that I for one find myself complaining. “This isn’t what I signed up for!” Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t, but when we finally realize we don’t have the answers, when we finally admit that we can only humbly ask the questions, then perhaps we come closer to the root of life.

Sometimes when the river carries us through the bends and breaks, all we can do is surrender into the current.