The Stages of a River

The Stages of a River

In high school geography, we study how a typical river has three stages: youthful (upper), mature (middle) and senile (lower). A river at the prime of its youth is turbulent and full of energy--cutting into rocks, tumbling down cliffs, gushing down valleys in great ferocity. In midlife, it slows down, meanders and loops over plains, depositing sediments that it had gathered in its youth until it finally merges with the infinite ocean, at the end of its "life".

It shouldn't come as a surprise that a river resembles the life of a person so much. To me, the analogy is more interesting if viewed in the opposite way: Working at the heart of human affairs are forces that resemble those we find in Nature--the natural impulses that drive a river to sea, the gravitational pressures that churn the cauldrons of stars and the nuclear forces that bind atomic particles together.

We are given a finite impulse of energy at birth. This energy has a natural tendency to find its resolution. We see a terrain ahead of us. This terrain is our fate, not of our own choosing. It is imposed on the river and the river has to negotiate its way to the sea.

But the river does not consciously "know" the way to the sea. It follows its natural tendencies. When we are young, we follow our desires and passions. The sharp rocks we hurl ourselves against, "correct" our paths, optimising our flow. We often rush headlong into things and only through the painful process of trial and error, do we learn the right way. So much energy is wasted in the recklessness of our youth.

When we reach middle-age, our store of energy has been half-depleted. We are wiser now because we know how to "go with the flow" and find the "right time" for things to come to fruition. The Javanese saying "Alon-alon asal kelakon" (slowly but surely) is a distillation of this very wisdom. We know how to work patiently, following the natural rhythm of the terrain, working around obstacles, depositing the rich soil of our experience along the way. We are most fruitful during this stage.

Nature abhors high energy states; they are unstable. All egoistic behaviour, selfish acts and actions that are acquisitive in nature, create states of high energy. Maintaining these high energy states requires even more energy.

High energy states are temporary; the Second Law of Thermodynamics dictates that they ultimately have to disintegrate. If we realise this, we will spend less time caring about our pride, image and position . All the wealth we accumulate are but transient. The river will ultimately dissipate all its energy and find its home--the point of lowest energy and highest stability--within the all-embracing arms of the pervasive sea.

Life is more worthwhile if we, like the river in middle and old age, irrigate farmlands and fertilize deltas. These are "selfless" acts. When the river merges with the sea, it loses its identity and finally "realises" that it is part of the universal scheme of things--the cycle of water in nature.

All of us are allocated a small amount of energy to manage within our lifetimes. How do we make use of it? The choice is up to us. One thing is for certain: we will end up at sea. So be a good river.