What we can learn from water

The elemental wisdom of floods

I have been reflecting on the water element these past few days – in the midst of heavy monsoon rains and a major flooding event on the island where I live.

I love using water as a metaphor when I speak about non-duality. It is one element of physical reality that closely approximates the properties of Essence – the infinite, unseen, cosmic stardust and source material that we are made from.

Water is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. We can find water in the ground we walk on, in the air we breathe, in the cells of our bodies.

Yet, it is largely invisible. We cannot really see water molecules in the atmosphere for example – at least not directly. We can only see water because of the effect it has, because of the way light hits the particles it carries, or because of the objects and containers that we associate with it.

We can contain water and channel it, but only temporarily. Water will not be captured for long. It is always shapeshifting, depending on its current context. The Nature of water is fluidity – it moves and transforms, much like Life itself.

Water is a messenger. It carries information. It stores our memories. It moves between worlds. Not solid. Not gas. Something, or somewhere in between.

Water, water everywhere

Now the interesting question for me has been: why so much water, suddenly all at once? Flooding events are becoming much more common – not only where I live, but globally. Let’s look beyond the obvious, geophysical, climate-related reasons.

What is the message we are receiving, on a more spiritual or energetic level?

If ecosystems are autocorrecting, then extreme weather events are feedback from the system, for the system. They carry information. They contain codes for the way we live and participate within the ecosystem if we listen attentively.

So what is it that we need to be reminded of or pointed towards?

Water eschews form. When water becomes dense enough and low-vibration enough to appear to take shape, then we no longer call it water, we call it ice. It is frozen.

Maybe all this water is here to remind us to let go. To remember to flow, instead of holding on so much. To unfreeze from identifying so much with the shapes we make.

True Nature expresses fluidity and creation, while ego pursues fixation and certainty.

The fixation of water

When the waters of life force get frozen into a specific shape, we have to work hard to maintain an identity. And without openness to that changing, we’re no longer truly participating in the movements of life. We are sitting in the ice box merely spectating.

This stuck-ness expresses itself in many ways. We see evidence of it in the accumulation and hoarding of resources, and an isolating level of hyper-individualism.

When Life energy is flowing through us unobstructed as Nature intended, it’s obvious. There is nothing to defend, to promote, or to fear. You see lightness. You see transparency. You see vitality. There is balance of stability and mobility.

In balance, we are not waterlogged and soggy, emotionally overwrought to the point that we have given up on making a positive impact. We are also not dried out and rigid, intellectually convinced of the righteousness of our defended personality.

With all of our conditioning, it’s not easy to release clinging to form. We are trained to construct and protect identity. And with all the chaos in the world, we have come to resist, rather than trust, the natural movements of Life.

Water and shame

As humans, a sense of shame stops us from going after whatever it is that we truly want. Shame creates stagnation because we are not moving forward according to our Nature.

Water doesn’t feel shame. It flows the way it flows, as guided by gravity. It flows the way it flows because of the obstructions it faces – not against them. With water, there is no frustration, no repression, and no negotation as its inherent force meets external objects.

Water and unworthiness

As humans, a sense of unworthiness gets us enrolled in extraction games. When we feel not-enough, we contort ourselves and manipulate others to get more. We fail to recognize the treasures we carry because we are not self-sourced according to our Nature.

Water doesn’t feel unworthy. It doesn’t think about its role or value in giving and receiving. It moves. And as it moves, it collects debris and delivers nourishment. It causes erosion and replenishes wells. It participates in life, completely un-self-consciously.

Water and ownership

As humans, a sense of ownership gets us caught up in ego protection. We feel fearful of losing what we have. Or we get angry about not getting what we think we deserve. We believe that things are ours because we earned them, when in truth, all has been given to us — including Life itself.

Water doesn’t feel entitled to anything. It doesn’t separate itself from the world, or consider the world as a collection of objects labeled “me” or “mine”. Water simply is. It moves everywhere. It exists within everything. It is part of the whole. It is the whole, undivided.

We have a lot to learn from water.

We can learn to let go of our fixed sense of selfhood, to participate more fully in life. We can learn to embody our full power, without a mind-directed agenda.

When we find that sweetness in the flow of “being like water”, it both nourishes our vessels and feeds the ecosystem we find ourselves in.