Have you ever seen some people having instant ability to connect? You know them almost instantly. Just like a River. What is so different about these people? It does not matter who they are and what is their background. They just connect and take you along with them. Like a River.

There are many such people that I met, lucky me. One such person from the recent past is Ustad Anwar Khan, a legendary folk singer from Rajasthan. He is very famous, highly acclaimed across the globe, intense yet very grounded. I not only had the opportunity to listen to his soulful music but also had an opportunity to collaborate through my other firm Kabir learning foundation. We did work together on leadership interventions for some European MNCs. One quality that I observed in him was the ability to “Flow”? Flow unhindered, flow naturally, and flow like a river.

What makes us “Flow”? Flow with ourselves, our feelings, our connections? Almost like permeable Water? Have you seen a river flow? Have you seen the way it connects to everyone and yet moves ahead? It leaves you perplexed, excited, it allows us to float and swim. It makes us vulnerable yet constantly gives us the ability to “Swim”. It gets polluted, yet finds its own ways to purify itself. What more can be a more powerful source of Inspiration than a River?

It is important in the modern context to understand what stops our flow? The answer is not complicated. It is our tendency to “Freeze” that stops our flow. What could be the reason behind “Freezing”?

Some thoughts:-

1. Insecurity -It makes us freeze, as it creates self-doubt and doubt about others. If we are clear about our path, then what is the fear?
2. Fear- It cripples our creativity and it stops our connection with life. Can you Imagine a fearful river? Around 75% of our body is Water, imagine what can happen if our fear stops it’s flow. Imagine if it is polluted with bitterness
3. The moment we think others are not “Right” , it restricts our flow . Kabir said : Every single soul that came to our lives made us better , do you agree ? Then why not have gratitude towards them ?
4. Lack of Gratitude: This kills the very purpose of life. Nature is designed to sustain “Thankfulness”. It is password to divinity and also to remain divine. Divinity is infinite and self-less. What makes divinity finite? Selfishness?
5. Selfishness: We are in the era of frozen foods. We freeze everything that is useful. Many of us keep this precious feeling of “Love” in a deep freezer. Some of us manipulate it to be used in certain situations and with certain people . Are we being kind to our ability to love ? Why selfishness is the biggest obstacle to Love? Great enterprises are born with a feeling of love towards a purpose. Selfishness creates boundaries for love. Selfishness creates “Terms and Conditions” for love. “I will do this, If you do this ..“and there it ends. And we lie and lie that others are responsible for our Selfishness and our tendency to remain finite.
6. Lies: If we lie to ourselves, we have put our precious “ River” of life in the cryogenic chambers of existence . If we create excuses for not doing what we should be doing, we accelerate the process of “freezing”, which in other words is a form of death.

So, how do we “ Warm” up and flow like a river. Well, some questions to WARM-UP:

1. Do we deliberately hurt ourselves?
2. Do we deliberately hurt others?
3. Do we stop ourselves from helping others?
4. Do we stop our ability to be compassionate?
5. Do we help our children to discover their Compassionate side?
6. Do we put “Terms and Conditions” for everything we do ?
7. Do we monetize our emotions?
8. Are we willing to form bridges ,not just dams?

When we flow like River, we give life and we receive life…Infinite Happiness