Between Feb 3rd and 19th we have the privilege,for the seventh year in a row,to being going to the Big Island of Hawaii to snorkel some of the best waters on our planet. Being that a lot of time will be spent in the ocean I have chosen this article on water to share with you.

A Lesson from Water.

Good advice that is often told to us is to be Strong as a Rock or Immovable like a Mountain when confronted by a tough situation.

Wise counsel recommends being Strong like Water.

Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible,nothing can surpass it. The Soft overcomes the Hard and the Gentle overcomes the Rigid.

Flexibility,not rigidity,is extolled as the strength to develop.

While we cannot control most of what happens to us,we can control how we react.

As with water.

Water does not stiffen in expectation of a blow,but rather curves around the impact.

You must be shapeless,formless,like water. When you pour water into a cup,it becomes the cup…in a bottle,it becomes the bottle…in a teapot,it becomes the teapot.

Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.

Margaret Atwood writes. “Water…cannot be broken; if we are like water,then we cannot be broken either…Water does not resist.Water flows…Water is not a solid wall,it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go,and nothing in the end can stand against it.

Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone.

Remember that,my child. Remember you are half water. If you can’t go through an obstacle,go around it.Water does”.

Life lessons from water include the understanding that persistence wins over hurry;the hard and rigid are overcome by the relentless application of gentle things.Water changes its form in response to its environment,but never loses its meaning:solid or light,cold or hot,water is always water.

And in being like water,we also need to remember that water is a source of nourishment and healing,and we can be like that towards ourselves and towards others.

William, CCBC, 2020.