During this occasion, I would like to talk about water. About the element of nature we have known so long, even before we have the ability to remember. The water we usually see falling down from the gray sky. The one we see flowing out of the tap, and the one we know flowing strongly in great rivers. We interact with water everyday. It is an intangible element of life. Yet, have we ever contemplated it, even just once?
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Water is flowing, from the higher place to the lower one. And it is doing so effortlessly. It is potential energy and gravity that move it. Water is simply harmonizing itself with the law of nature. It entrusts itself fully to God.
Water is always flowing from the higher place to the lower one. And does it need not to put so much effort to do so? Put an obstacle in its path; it would not be difficult for it to make a turn and find another way. Put a big obstacle in front of it; it would not be hard for it to find the smallest crevices, and keep flowing without any burden. Dam it up with the huge, massive wall; and it would come to a halt. Waiting. Until all the building water becomes too heavy to contain; thus the law of nature collapses the wall, and flows the water to the lower place.
Contain it on a pool. You will never see it making an effort crawling out of the puddle. The sunlight and the air temperature will set it free, turning it into vapor, changing it into clouds, and then sending it back down as the rain. In the face of the Earth, the water again is flowing to the lower place. Nothing we can do to make it stop. We can cross it. We can hinder it. We can change its course. We can delay its journey. Yet whatever happen, it will stay flowing to the lower place. And it needs no serious effort to achieve it.
Water becomes unstoppable, even when it flows without any effort. Because for water, universe is its ally.
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And thus, water taught us to harmonize with the law of nature, so we can achieve our goal without being stoppable. But how exactly can we make alliance with the nature?
To do so, we need to be like water. To be fully self-surrender. Water has never had any personal ambition, water has never had any sophisticated plans to achieve egoistic goals. Only by emptying itself out of individual goal, water surrender itself to the Divine purpose. And the same law applies to us all. Only by letting go of control, we let the force of the universe guides our every step. And who can stop God’s will? When you surrender yourself to God, the universe becomes your ally. And nothing will be able to stop your journey; just like no single creature can stop you from aging.
But do not misunderstand! The Divine purpose is not the same as raging war in the name of God. It is not the same as taking care of holy places, or doing prayer rituals as often as possible. It is also not the same as giving away as much charity as possible, nor doing anything in order to be placed in the Heaven. It is not the purpose we read over and over on the Holy Scripture. It is the personal purpose, which is different for each person. It is the purpose for us as the participant in the development of the universe; the one we can only listen when we let go of our egoistic desires.
And do not be mistaken too. Self-surrender is not the same as self-apathy. Surrendering self to God, is to let the forces of nature to guide our way, all the times. Listening the the guidance of The One Almighty, when to make a move, where to go, where to make a turn, and when to wait. To do that, you need to listen to the voice of your heart, without any effort to go against it, nor simply to ignore it. Just like how water surrender itself to the guidance of gravity, to keep flowing, even when it means it has to leave behind the most beautiful scene high in the mountain. Just like how water never complains when fate takes it to the city, when it is mixed with the corroding industrial waste.
Surrender, it is the message from the flowing water. Because God has the ultimate plan for each of us. The plan that will surely be true, no matter how hard you resist. So why keep fighting? Why insisting on fighting your individual wish? Flow with the nature, and be happy. Because by surrendering yourself, universe becomes your ally. You will fulfill your greatest purpose, effortlessly, and unstoppably.
Bandung-Jatinangor,
May 2009,
Rizal
