The Undercurrent

There's the undercurrent of life. The undercurrent is what support us. It is our health. Our peace of mind. Our creativity. Our intellect. Our playfulness. Our spiritual nature. Our emotional connection with others.

The undercurrent takes care of us. Nurtures us. Makes us feel fulfilled. I call it undercurrent because it mostly goes unnoticed. It's basic. We don't tend to notice what's most simple and profound.

But we get pulled away from what's actually sustaining us by things that promise to take care of us. Ads, or other people's suggestions, or a compulsive part of our mind says, "If you get _______, you're going to feel better." We believe if we get this thing, then we'll be better, happier, and more liked. We get pulled in and it makes us insatiable.

But we come back to the undercurrent when we get tired of needing something flashy for a hit of some quick energy. It happens when we get tired of relying on something outside ourselves to feel better. There's an exhaustion that what's extraneous can no longer overcome.

Last night I hung out with my girlfriend and her son and we worked on the yard. Her son mowed the lawn, while my girlfriend weeded the gardens, and I went out and bought a sprinkler, came back and watered the yard. No one was online or watching tv or texting. It was simple. The experience made me feel taken care of. My extraneous needs, the ones that play in my mind and say, "Go and get this now" or "No, you need this, this will do it!" were gone. I felt energized tending to my heart and to the land.