#Fluidity

Rooted Yet Flowing: Woolf’s Paradox of Selfhood

Finally, the image draws sustenance from Woolf’s coasts. The Godrevy Lighthouse near St Ives inspired aspects of To the Lighthouse, where childhood shores become mental estuaries. Tidal pools hold stillness while the sea moves around them, much as habits and rituals hold shape within life’s surges. By tracing these littoral zones, Woolf shows how presence can be moored and mobile at once. Thus the landscape completes the thought: I am rooted, but I flow. [...]

The Gentle Power and Wisdom of Water’s Flow

Drawing from Atwood's metaphor, we arrive at lessons for our own lives: embracing fluidity can be a form of wisdom. Rather than bracing against every difficulty, we can ‘flow’—adapting, accommodating, and remaining true to our core. This approach does not strip us of strength; rather, it allows us to move beyond rigid boundaries, finding gentle paths through life’s obstacles with grace and resilience. [...]