The River of Emotions: Let It Flow

Once upon a time, in a village nestled between two great mountains, there was a river called Lumina. The villagers believed the river was alive, carrying messages from the heart of the earth to the endless sky. Some days, Lumina flowed gently, sparkling under the sun. Other days, she roared with storms, her waters wild and untamed. The villagers would often say, "Lumina is angry today," or "Lumina is happy." But an old wise woman named Mira saw things differently.

"Lumina is neither good nor bad," she would tell the children who gathered around her. "She simply flows. And just like the river, emotions are energy—they need to move, not be blocked."

One day, a young boy named Kai came to Mira with tears in his eyes. "I feel so angry, but I know anger is bad," he said.

Mira shook her head gently. "Who told you anger is bad?"

"Everyone says so. They say I shouldn't feel it."

Mira led Kai to the river’s edge and picked up a smooth, round stone. "Look at this rock. It has two sides, just like everything in life—just like day and night, just like inhale and exhale. Energy flows in both directions. Would you call night bad? Or exhaling wrong?"

Kai shook his head. "No… I guess not."

"Then why call anger bad? Anger is a messenger, just like joy. It tells you something about yourself. If you block it, it's like trying to dam the river. It will build up, and one day, it will break free in ways you cannot control. But if you let it flow, it can teach you something."

Kai thought about this. "So… what do I do with my anger?"

Mira smiled. "Express it. Move your body, dance, sing, shout into the wind. Let it flow like Lumina. And then, when you feel it has moved through you, ask yourself: What did my anger want to tell me? What belief do I hold that made me feel this way?"

Kai tried it. He ran along the riverbank, jumping and shouting until he felt lighter. Then he sat by Mira and said, "I was angry because I thought my friend betrayed me. But maybe I was just afraid of losing him. Maybe I believed friendship should never have conflicts."

Mira nodded. "And now you can decide—do you want to hold onto that belief, or do you want to see friendship in a new way?"

Kai looked at the river, watching it flow freely under the open sky. "I want to let it flow."

From that day on, Kai no longer feared his emotions. He learned to listen to them, to express them, and to discover what they had to teach him. And just like the great river Lumina, he embraced the natural flow of life—without judgment, without resistance, simply moving forward with the current of his true self.