High up in the Himalayas, a tiny stream of water leaks out of a glacier. As it makes its way down the mountain, it slowly gathers speed, expanding outwards and becoming wider. Further down the mountain, it meets with a flatter terrain, slowing down its momentum and creating a small pond. For a while, it seems like that is the end of the story for the river - destined to be a little pond in the mountains.
The pond is still moving though, every so slowly. Eventually, it finds its way to a group of rocks at the edge of a jagged cliff. As the water reaches the rocks, it violently plunges down over the precipice, creating a beautiful and powerful waterfall. At the bottom of the waterfall, the the water splits off into various different streams flowing in different directions. What was once a strong force of water has now seemingly been diluted down into a group of wayward streams, none of them looking particularly different from the original stream at the top of the mountain.
Over days, weeks, months and years, these various streams travel down different parts of the mountain, molding to the terrain that bounds them. Their waters transform from narrow creeks to wide lakes to powerful rapids, cascading down the mountain.
Eventually, the streams merge into two large rivers, the Bhagirathi river and Alaknanda river, which meet in the Northern Indian town of Devprayag. Upon meeting, they merge into one massively wide and powerful river that makes its way almost all the way down through all of India, nourishing millions of people before eventually merging back into the ocean through the Bay of Bengal.
This river is called The Ganges, the holiest river in India and one of the most powerful in the world. In order for it to become the famous Ganges that millions of people love, it first must take the journey described above, winding through the mountains, sometimes appearing as tiny streams and other times as powerful cascades, with seemingly no destination in sight. Its journey is not linear. It moves in alignment with the shape of the mountain, letting nature guide it to its eventual destiny.
Let your life be like the Ganges. You are exactly where you need to be.
You Are The River
