Steering Our Way to Center by Mark Nepo

A fish cannot drown in water.
A bird does not fall in air.
Each creature God made
must live in its own true nature.
-Mechthild

Though we can't see it, our little life is carried in an open vessel that mystics have called the soul. Think of it as a canoe. Anyone who has been in a canoe or rowboat knows that, if left alone, the boat will drift. In a stream or river, the current will carry us, but we need from time to time to paddle or row, to steer our way back to where the current is clear and strong.

This gives us a way to understand our journey on earth: At the center of the stream of life is the unstoppable current of Spirit, the energy of Oneness, that vital Original Presence that all beings long for. Some call it the Tao. Others call it the Holy Spirit. Jung called it the Unconscious. Native Americans call it the Great Spirit. Buddhists call it Dharmakaya, the stream of suchness. Whatever name you give it, it never stops rushing or carrying whatever dares to enter it. We only have to find our way to the center of its pull and our strength will seem to double, and the journey will seem easier.

This is the purpose of faith: to believe that this current is there even though we can't see it. And this is the purpose of will: to correct our inevitable drifting with a paddle here and a paddle there; not trying to do it all ourselves, but trying to restore our native position in the ancient and immediate current so it can carry us into tomorrow.

This image gives us a way to understand our humanness and our need for inner practice. For when a canoe drifts left or right, or gets stuck in the roots of an old willow, it is not wrong or evil or lacking in character. It is just being a canoe. Likewise, our rush to judge ourselves and others for what goes wrong is a distraction from engaging the nature of living which is drifting and steering.

The human journey is one of steering our way back to center over and over. It is really about learning the art of canoeing. What is the nature of life's current? What is the nature of the soul that carries us and how do we care for it? What is the nature of drifting? How do we learn the art of steering? In daily terms, how do we personalize our relationship with that sacred stream?

In essence, like it or not, we are all small boat builders and stream-journeyers, dreaming of the ease of being fish while we tire our arms paddling life?s currents.

(Printed with permission www.marknepo.com)