When the Waters are Muddy

When the waters are muddy, just stand still.

I heard this for the first time when I was in a terrible state. I was that typical archetypal person you read about: seemingly successful on the outside (though not that successful), but whose life lacked meaning and purpose. But I knew it didn't have to be that way, and I was going to change things. I was going to find my purpose.

In hindsight, I don't think it's wise to set out with determination and resolve to find your purpose come hell or high water. I think we all have a purpose. And it's available to each of us to find it. But in seeking it with the ego leading the way, we stir things up that delay it's finding.

After a chance meeting at a little league baseball practice, I found a person I could talk to about my search and who was willing to listen. Really listen.

I described it to him as we sat under a grove of eucalyptus trees looking out at the Pacific Ocean. Despite that romantic sounding scene, I was in a dark and desperate place. 

I'm in a dinghy. I'm out at sea. I have no compass. I can't see stars, and couldn't read them if I could. The horizon is devoid of landmarks. I can't see a single sliver of land.

Think of it differently, he said. You're a fish. You're swimming around trying to get direction. In doing so, you're kicking up more and more sand. You think that the sand is always there, obscuring your view, because you're always darting around looking for clarity. 

Stop and let it settle. Stop searching so hard, just for a little while. Things will start to get clearer.

It was good advice.

If you're feeling a little lost, or a lot lost. Know that there is hope, and it is available to you with, counterintuitively, less effort rather than more. 

When the waters are muddy. Just stand still. 

And see what happens.

Note: The original quote from Lao Tsu is: "Muddy water, let stand, becomes clear."