Psst..."Do you want to know a secret..." (Mind like water)

"...do you promise not to tell?" Can't believe it was 1963 when George Harrison sang this Lennon and McCartney composition. I was in Grade 9 for heaven's sake! There's lots of secrets out there, I'm sure, but some "best kept secrets" should be shared with great abandon - ie, without restraint! One such "secret" is the concept of "mind like water". It's a "Zen" concept which, to me, often means that it is a gem of wisdom that reflects both mystery and simplicity - the combination of which lead us to an "enlightenment". And it's so often the kind of enlightenment that seems so clear, so obvious, so understandable - you wonder why you never thought of it before!

"Mind like water" - it's an image that can free and sooth our minds and help us restore peace in unsettling times and experiences.

Think about water - its most obvious physical property is its resilience. Water assumes the shape of anything you pour it into or any surface it touches. It assumes the shape of my water bottle or tea mug or thermos. It assumes the shape of the kayak hull as I glide through its liquid surface tension. It assumes the shape of the complex and vast underwater topography of the ocean bottom. From water bottle to ocean floor, this miraculous and life supporting liquid shows...resilience.

There's another property of water. Think of what happens when we throw a stone into the calm water of the nearby harbour. The water reacts - of course. Ripples emanate as concentric circles from the point of contact of the stone to the water. But - and it's a really important "but" - the water reacts only as appropriate to the force and mass of the stone. The size of the ripples depends on the energy of the stone hitting the water. Its outward emanating ripples are not overdone or underdone - just appropriate to the experience of that particular stone hitting its surface. What happens next is the heart of the wisdom contained in the image of "mind like water". Moments after the stone hits the surface, producing little waves, the water shows its inherent resilience. Before long, the harbour water is calm again - as if nothing ever happened.

The lessons here are subtle but powerful. The willingness of water to assume new shapes and forms reminds me about openess and flexibility in the face of a changing world. The water's return to calmness reminds me that "calm, cool, and collected" is the default (and natural) state we must strive for in our lives. "Mind like water" - worth working on.

"Do you want to know a secret...do you promise not to tell?" Nope, don't keep this one a secret - this one needs to be shared.

Peace.