The Flowing River of Life

A flowing river changes the land through which it flows. Sometimes it brings soil to enrich the farmer's fields, enabling the development of civilization itself. Sometimes it races out of its banks to destroy those fields and the people who depend on them. Around Louisville, people still talk about the 1937 flood and point to the high water marks on the third floor of many buildings. Where the river turns around a bend, it can wash away the banks by several feet each year, and man's efforts to control the river aren't always successful, because the river just starts flowing around the obstacle erected to stop it. I have been impressed by the tenacity of the trees growing next to the river. The trees root where ever the river brings enough silt for a seed to take hold. They continue growing whether the water is high or low around those roots. Eventually, the water will wash away enough soil the tree will tumble into the next flood, ending up somewhere downstream as driftwood. The driftwood itself is part of the environment, giving homes to insects, birds and animals. Trees are able to lose the soil around their roots, and the core of their trunks altogether, and still survive.

Advice from a River...Go with the flow... Immerse yourself in nature...Slow down and meander....Go around the obstacles...Be thoughtful of those downstream...Stay current...The beauty is in the journey!