Addicted to flow

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Though conscious of it in my 20s and 30s to good effect, I was startled to discover struggle had become a life meme, that I’d become a struggle addict.

Every addict needs to replace his addiction. Marathon druggies turn to marathon running. Food addicts become health addicts. Sex addicts . . . get married? It worked for me — that and losing my hair. (It also helps to marry the one: the one who is the love of your loins and the love of your life.)

Now the former struggle addict is becoming a flow addict.

Man, I loves me some flow

First a little background on flow. My friend Gil Vega introduced me to the concept in college when he did a paper on Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (MC to you and me, the pronunciation can be teased out, and with some practice we’d get it down, but really, why). MC defined flow as the state you are in when you are wholly engaged in an activity, where you find yourself energized, focused, flowing — where you lose track of yourself, your surroundings, time, especially time. This is my rough paraphrasing . . . .

There are other aspects MC used to define flow, but for our purposes, this is sufficient.

I believe MC was pointing to an even greater concept: Flow, with a capital F. Divine flow, that feeling of divinity coursing through you. You know the zone, where you swim with the dolphins and soar with the osprey and float with the butterflies . . . in whatever you’re doing. You know the feeling, it’s that feeling of Connection, of God-bolts charging through you to magnificent effect. You know the way, through love and laughter. You know, you know, you know!

We all experience that exquisite Energy when we are in tune, on beat, on purpose. The master cellist Yo-Yo Ma feels It, I’m sure. I’m certain Oprah feels It and flows It. You know without even knowing him that my eight-year old son lives It so often he embodies It — that going with the divine current.

May the Flow be with you (and you with/in the Flow).

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