Going With the Flow
- Reader Submission
- Oct 27
- 3 min read
At Ayana Flow, we believe that wisdom comes from many voices and many paths. Today’s post is part of our new Reader Submissions series, where members of our community share their reflections, stories, and insights on mindfulness, movement, and personal growth.
This week’s submission, written by a reader who wishes to remain anonymous, invites us to explore the art of acceptance and the unpredictable rhythm of life’s unfolding.
Here’s their story…
Going With the Flow
I am about to turn 30… Crossing the end of a decade in life is a milestone that’s incoming like a runaway freight train. It’s easy to be engulfed in the dreadful realization that it is an end of an era; a chapter in life full of its ups and downs where the ink has now dried, and the only edits are the way in which it is read, not written. The perception, and not the intent.
Yes, I know I’m supposed to let go of the past, love my mistakes, think of the future, blah blah blah… life can only be understood backwards, and must be lived forwards1, so on and so forth; but the trapdoors of wishes to alter the past are alluring like those online advertisements promising infinite love, instant weight loss, and Bitcoins. Wishing I could have done more… pursued that one thing I dreamt of but never got around to… or reversing that rash, impulsive mistake that took me months to climb out of. It was an incessant struggle to let go of judging my past and to see the opportunities that await in the future.
The Parable of the Farmer & The Horse
I used to think in a fatalist way, that all my past events, good and bad, have led me to where I am now, and given all the things I can be grateful for currently, that my past events were a necessary pre-condition to my current existence. Yet I would still ruminate on those ugly events that I wish I could have avoided. Through my winding journey of trying to overcome my obsessive thoughts I came across a beautiful Taoist story that reshaped the way I view fortune and misfortune.
The story starts with a farmer who owned a horse, and the horse runs away one morning. The farmer’s neighbours expressed sympathy for the farmer’s misfortune, yet he responds “Maybe”.
The horse returns the next day, bringing several beautiful, wild stallions with it. The neighbours hail this as a great fortune, yet the farmer responds again with just “Maybe.”
The farmer’s son then tries to tame one of the wild stallions, falls, and breaks his leg. The neighbours offer their condolences, and the farmer again says “Maybe.”
A war suddenly breaks out in the kingdom, and the army sweeps through the village for conscripts. Seeing the son with the broken leg, they spare the farmer’s son. The neighbours see this as a great fortune, and the farmer responds “Maybe”.
What Will You Do?
If this story connects with you, I recommend The Way of Zen by Alan Watts. I recently dislocated my shoulder, and was scared I might not be able to enjoy sports in the same way ever again. Because of my dislocation though, I reconnected with an exceptional physiotherapist that has expanded my life in various ways. Taoism shows us that events in life flow in an unpredictable manner, and that much of our stress and suffering stem from our short-sighted reactions on these events and their possible outcomes. Peace of mind comes from letting go of the need to judge events prematurely as “good” or “bad”.
So, when that decade milestone looms near, rather than looking back and wishing you could do things over again, try this instead: imagine yourself ten years into the future, wiser and more mature from a decade lived with purpose, waking up into your body today.
What will you do with this one precious life?
Wabi Sabi,
Hobbit Under the Hill
1 From the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard
Do You Have Something to Say?
If this piece resonated with you and you’d like to contribute your own story or reflection to the Ayana Flow community, we’d love to hear from you. Send your submission to info@ayanaflowblog.com with the subject line “Reader Submission”.
Your voice matters here.
A heartfelt thank you to Hobbit Under the Hill for sharing this thoughtful reflection on surrender, perspective, and what it truly means to “go with the flow.”
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