Row With the Flow (Cosmic Rhythm Simplified)

Whenever you’re in a funk about how complex everything seems to be and how your life spins out of control all by itself, do what I do and remember that cute little round we all used to sing with such gusto.

Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.

First of all, it’s YOUR boat. You’re the one who has to do the rowing, and getting there isn’t necessarily going to be easy, but note that it does state “gently,” not roughly. Add to this that it says DOWN the stream, not UP the stream. Going up the stream is against the current of the natural flow of life, not to mention it’s a lot more work than going with the flow. Most important is the emphasis on the words’ “Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily.” Merrily gets repeated, count them, FOUR times. So there’s joy on your journey down the stream. Isn’t it grand? Would Lao Tsu have liked this analysis?

Source: New Mexico TCC News, Dec. 1995