I gave a workshop recently where I needed to have a particular audiovisual setup – one that allows the presentation to have a more pronounced impact with DVDs that accompany the information offered. As it turned out, when I arrived to make sure things were set up as planned, the usual audiovisual equipment wasn’t available and I had to settle for a TV set with a relatively small screen. It took about an hour of moving around furniture and figuring out the space to make it work, but eventually it became good enough to meet the need. And, all we usually need is something to be good enough which, by definition, means we have something to work with. Then, it’s up to us to find the resource in what we have available.

As I moved through all the figuring and moving furniture, and trying out this and that, I realized that my long-term practice of “being water” – going with the flow, moving into the openings, and not banging up against what can’t be changed – has made a big difference in how I respond to glitches along the way. Because of this, I wanted to revisit with you how to meet adversity with resilience, with a capacity to figure out what will work rather than getting stuck on what won’t.

Remember that water seeks the way that’s open. It automatically moves in that direction. Imagining that you are water, notice what you experience when you think about bumping up against a situation that isn’t immediately going your way. What happens in your body? What thoughts spring to mind? What feelings do you have? And, if you could remember to find the opening, how would that change your response? If you were to remember that the opportunity is to find out what will work rather than what’s not working, how would that be for you?

The goal here isn’t to become a Pollyanna and overlook things that aren’t good for you or that absolutely won’t or shouldn’t stay the way they are. Rather, it’s an opportunity to practice feeling your way into where you can discover the opening that will allow the situation or circumstance to work for you rather than against you. As you experiment with this stance, you’ll most likely find that when you get irritated, frustrated, or otherwise upset with unexpected developments, or things that work out differently from how you wanted or expected, you’ve stopped looking for the opening. You’ll most likely be focused on what’s lacking, or what’s closed, rather than feeling into how you can turn the situation into something that can work for you.

The gift in this stance is that it allows us to be in constant collaboration with what the world brings our way. We become co-creators in the quality of life we experience, and of how we move through challenges. As with all the experiments, the goal here isn’t to do it perfectly. The goal is to increase your awareness of the moment-to-moment choices you make, and to have an opportunity to shift into greater resilience and resourcefulness.