The River Cannot Go Back By Kahlil Gibran
It is said that before entering the sea
a river trembles with fear.
She looks back at the path she has traveled,
from the peaks of the mountains,
the long winding road crossing forests and villages.
According to Marine Biologist, Wallace J. Nichols, “Being near water allows us to access a semi-meditative state known as ‘drifting.’ Drifting is a special form of attention where we are engaged with the world around us but not focused on getting something done. It is also true that our brains cannot distinguish between being near water and imagining we are near water, so we can find this DRIFT state wherever we may be in the world right now.
We have experienced many cultures that have practices for engaging with the world without a focus on productivity.
Across cultures and continents, the art of stillness reveals itself in richly textured ways, from picnics by the canals in the Netherlands, where we embrace Niksen, the Dutch ritual of doing nothing at all, to the warm piazzas and seaside resorts of Italy, where the dolce far niente invites presence, pleasure, and the gentle luxury of idleness. In the vast landscapes of Australia’s Northern Territory, we learned about dadirri, the deep listening of the Ngangikurungkurr people. It is a stillness not of retreat, but of reverence and spiritual attunement. In Indonesia, the unhurried rituals of ngopi and leyeh-leyeh unfold in early morning coffees and afternoon quiet, small gestures that honor the pause as sacred. And in the Hawaiian islands, we found nanea, a tender absorption in the moment, felt in sunsets, or shared silence that speaks of ease. Each of these practices, while distinct, echoes a collaborative human wisdom that is universal. There is beauty, even necessity, in our willingness to DRIFT.
Kahlil Gibran continues…
And in front of her,
she sees an ocean so vast,
that to enter
there seems nothing more than to disappear forever.
But there is no other way.
The river cannot go back.
Nobody can go back.
While many of the examples above are positive, it is also possible to DRIFT away from our core values, DRIFT apart from loved ones, and DRIFT aimlessly without purpose. It is possible to DRIFT into a heap with others who don’t have our best interests at heart, sometimes even as entire nations lose their global anchor.
To DRIFT, in its truest meditative form, is a rhythm known intimately across the globe and its oceans, and we are grateful to have witnessed and participated in this practice. It is often overlooked, but always accessible to us when we are ready to release our resistance to it. When we feel the tremble and the anxiety like the river approaching the sea, we have a choice.
Kahlil Gibran continues …
To go back is impossible in existence.
The river needs to take the risk
of entering the ocean
because only then will fear disappear.
This July, we will remember and practice long walks that don’t have a destination, idleness near the water, intentional rest, and sitting with loved ones in stillness. July is a time to practice being awake to the world without pressing against it. The only goal is to DRIFT back to ourselves. This ‘allowing‘ gives us the grace to move through the world from a place of love because even the vast ocean can’t keep the light from reaching its darkest places.
Kahlil Gibran concludes…
Because that’s where the river will know
it’s not about disappearing into the ocean,
but of becoming the ocean.
