A great metaphor

I am reading an amazing book on the power of visualization. I came across a metaphor within this book that I really liked:

"Let us imagine that life is a river. Most people are clinging to the bank, afraid to let go and risk being carried along by the current of the river. At a certain point, each person must be simply willing to let go, and trust the river to carry him along safely. At this point, he learns to "go with the flow" and it feels wonderful.

Once he has become accustomed to being in the flow of the river, he can begin to look ahead and guide his own course onward, deciding where the course looks best, steering the way around boulders and snags, and choosing which of the many channels and branches of the river he prefers to follow, all the whole still "going with the flow."

- Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain