Watching Our River Flow

By

Bill Cottringer

Sitting on my back porch,

With wife, dog and drink,

Watching our river flow,

Teaches me all I need to know;

Making menacing white water,

From flowing full and fast,

Bumping into rocks;

Sometimes running shallow,

From the summer’s heat,

Sometimes flooding,

From all the melting snow,

Providing transportation,

For a few fish,

And occasional kayaker;

Providing food and drink,

For all the hungry birds,

And many thirsty trees;

Carrying logs and dirt,

From far upstream,

Losing them along the way.

But all without thinking or feeling,

Planning, anticipating or reacting;

No worries,

No complaints,

No problems,

No conflicts,

No anger,

No jealousy,

No negativity,

All without thinking or effort.

For our flowing river,

Success and failure,

Are not good or bad;

But for humans they are,

Because thinking stops the flow;

We can’t avoid this problem,

But if wrong thinking,

Flows into these things,

Then only right thinking,

Can let go to the flow,

Without needless judgment,

Of this being good,

And that being bad;

Watching our river flow,

Teaches me all I need to know,

All without wrong thinking,

Or wasted effort.

Some say this:

If you are lucky to live on a river,

You are lucky enough,

Without any other stuff.

This is all I need to know.