The River Does Not Care

 

We often believe that when our intentions are right and we genuinely care about the outcome, the universe is supposed to meet us halfway.

But the universe is indifferent to what we hope to accomplish. It only cares about what we work for.

Consider this story:

A boatman was rowing against the fierce current, but his boat kept drifting downstream. Tired, the boatman wanted to give up. An elder from the shore told him something important. 

“The river does not care about your intention. But the minute your oars rest, the current takes control.”

Similarly, in Sanskrit there is a Subhashita (a well-known saying):

नावमनुप्रवहतीं यद्वद् वायुः प्रवाधते ।

तद्वद् इन्द्रियजातानां यत् प्रमाथी मनस्तथा ॥

Nāvamanupravahatīṁ yadvad vāyuḥ pravādhate | 

Tadvad indriyajātānāṁ yat pramāthī manastathā ||

This means that: ‘Just as a sudden, forceful wind sweeps away an untethered, unsteered boat on the water, so too does a drifting, unguided mind sweep away a person’s stability and direction the moment vigilance is dropped.’

While moving towards your goal, inertia and distraction mean losing the ground that you fought so hard to gain.

More importantly, our intentions are cheap. 

Circumstances do not pause because of our fatigue. You have to keep moving towards your goal.

The river will continue to flow whether you row or rest. 

So pick up your oars and keep steering.