Trusting the flow of the current

Lessons in thriving from an 80-year-old renegade and a troop of singing girl scouts

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“Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force.”

― Lao Tzu

As I’ve shared before, my sankalpa for 2026 is to be like water. In other words, to stop wrecking myself against the rocks in utter denial of inconvenient realities.

So, it struck me as synchronistic when a teacher my nonprofit brought to Salt Lake City (from the similarly drought-stricken desert of Mexico City) gifted me with his own water-based mythology. Perhaps we desert dwellers often dream through water.

Bob Walter has lived an extraordinarily interesting life, far beyond his work with Joseph Campbell. He’s 80 now and I’m not sure he’s recorded it in any way that will be preserved, so I count myself quite fortunate to have received a personal recounting over dinner on Saturday night.

Let me first back up to Friday when I met Bob in-person for the first time. He asked how my nonprofit venture was faring and I briefly remarked on the disappointing release of a series of offerings I was quite attached to.

Bob nodded thoughtfully and replied, “Indeed, we can’t push water,” which is maybe the best way to sum up the majority of my suffering across my lifetime.

Bob saw me clearly, because he had also made many valiant attempts to push water. I pocketed the gift of that reframe like a well-worn worry stone passed on after many years of smoothing.

After the conclusion of the community engagements, four of us sat down to break bread, by far my favorite part of hosting our teachers. Well into our entrees, Bob recounted a life of stubborn, brilliant, audacious projects that ruffled the feathers of the status quo every way he turned. His background is in theater and when he couldn’t find a stage for experimental productions, he built one. And when that stage was shut-down because it lacked two fire exits, the man put up a circus tent.

A part of me latched onto these stories with awe and reverence, the same part that believes we can bend the world to our benevolent will. But as he brought us forward to the present day, the wisdom he gleaned along the way became clear: Keep the creative fire, but change directions with the current.

During our workshop where we explored our personal and collective mythology, Bob shared a humorous story that encapsulates this guiding “mythology.”

Needing a break after a long run of performances, he and a handful of men from the production rented canoes and dropped them into the Ohio River for a three-day adventure without any real preparation. Chaos ensued.

On the second day, far behind schedule, they encountered an island. One canoe tried the left and was promptly overturned. Another tried the right and also went for a swim. Bob and his companion preemptively surrendered and dragged their canoe ashore. The serious effort thrown at the river was confounding their progress, rather than facilitating it.

As the men dried out by a fire, they heard singing. A dozen canoes soon appeared, full of girl scouts who neatly navigated the rapids and continued on their way.

The guiding principles, then and from a life marked by big, creative ideas:

• Don’t use your oars, unless you’re in the rapids or standing water

• Keep singing

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Upcoming Gatherings:

Women’s Sangha: Full Pink Moon Sound Bath

Join us for a loving kindness sound bath meditation with Natalie Forbush, alongside poetry and space to connect as a community.

Wed, Apr 1st 6:30-8:00 pm South Jordan, UT

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Gratitude for Contributing Readers

Thank you to those supporting this labor of love! All revenue is donated to Madrona, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community at the confluence of art, soul and nature.

I will be sharing small treasures with you - personal stories, poems, rituals, and other delights to say thank you.