Downstream: Going with the Current

(Thanks to my friend & artist Chris Eagon for telling me about the whole concept of "downstreaming," and to whoever originated or articulated this idea in the first place.)

A friend introduced me to the to notion of getting into the current and flowing with when she hitched a ride with me to view the sand mandala at the Cascade Park library around Winter Solstice time. She said that she'd decided to simply state a particular wish (some people call this "putting it out there") and see what came up once she'd set her intention. No aggressive search campaigns of the type I always plan, just noticing what happened once she alerted herself to possibilities.

I admit to always having been skeptical about the ability to set things in motion without a lot of heaving and pushing. Maybe it's my Calvinist upbringing, with its "God helps those who help themselves" orientation. However, I've decided to try it out by adopting a more flowing stance towards one effort that has persistently eluded results.

I've been singing in groups since elementary choir in childhood, but a few years ago it occurred to me that it might be fun to get a small group together to sing the sort of material I load onto my MP3 for "car karaoke" - traditional and popular songs such as the pieces by the Linda Ronstadt/Dolly Parton/Emmylou Harris trio. Or maybe a Manhattan Transfer-style quartet with both men and women. I knew that there are zillions of people out there who sing reasonably well and would like to do more than simply belt out Broadway tunes in the shower but don't want to join a big chorus.

One and a half years later, I've tried out two mixed groups I met on Craigslist, neither of whom panned out because members had to move in order to keep jobs. I've posted my own ad but none of the interested women had an evening off at the same time. So I've decided that this will be my Downstream project: if it's meant to happen, I'll meet the right people and if not, something else will turn up.

For me it isn't easy to think this way. I'm too used to making things happen. Maybe you are too. American culture values a proactive attitude. But when you're pushing, straining and proacting the project to death, it might be time to loosen your grip, say "okay, this is what I want but I'm open to something I haven't considered yet" and see what occurs. That something might be better than whatever you've imagined.