Keep the Water Flowing

"I don't like the water master, but I still use my turn for irrigation."

• Joe Frazier
  

Keep the Water Flowing

We've all had it happen to us. That is, you've been moving forward with your plan and things are going along just fine. Then, something outside of your control happens and everything seemingly comes to a halt!

I was on my way to Boise, Idaho to attend my nephew's wedding. My travel period was at the end of a busy day. I was tired. It was late in the evening now and I had been on the phone working during the entire day. It felt good to be sitting at the gate in the airport so I could take it easy for a few minutes before boarding a plane.

"Hum, an eight o'clock flight, at the airport in Boise by nine, another half hour to get my rental car and drive to the hotel. Yes! It couldn't be more convenient!" I gloated to myself.

Then, as if someone had been listening to my thoughts and wanted to teach me a lesson, I began to eavesdrop on an announcement from the gate agent. "Our plane is late due to weather in Minneapolis. The flight to Boise will be departing at least one hour late. I'll keep you posted as I get more information."

My gloating stopped! I felt something in my stomach begin to stir. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck begin to lift slowly. No! It wasn't lifting slowly; it was racing to a prickle. And, in an instant, I was fully upset. "Don't they know I'm on a schedule!" I muttered under my breath.

Then, as if on cue, I heard the words of my friend Joe Frazier, "I don't like the water master, but I still use my turn for irrigation."

We had been talking about staying focused on what we wanted in life, just a few days ago, when Joe told me a little story about his friend who was a farmer. The farmer wanted to have a successful farm in an area that needed to be irrigated. So, he used his water rights, in turn, from the local irrigation company to give his thirsty plants the water they needed during the hot, dry summer. If he didn't use the water his plants would wither and die quickly.

Still, he didn't get along with the "water master" most of the time. There were many days when he would feel as if he had been mistreated by this "power hungry man." But, he wanted a successful farm more than he wanted anything else, so he just made the best of it and looked past his differences so we could get the benefits of using the water.

"Could I be like Joe's farmer friend and benefit from going with the flow of the water?" The answer fell like rain throughout my body. I began to relax. There was nothing I could do about the missing airplane, but there was something I could do!

I used the two hour delay to finish some things that I'd been "meaning to get to sometime." I took a call and made some progress on a transaction. "Hum, I wouldn't have been able to take that important call had I been on the plane!"

Wow! I wasn't just going with the flow of the world; I felt as if I were surfing!

In the end, the plane arrived. I arrived in Boise. The hotel staff was extra kind to me because of my late arrival and I had a pleasant stay. On my return flight I sat back and thought through my experience again; "it's a lot better to float down the stream than to try to swim against the current!" I think I'll open the irrigation gate more often and go with the flow.