Don't Go Chasing Waterfalls

This is a little cartoon I drew and a poem I wrote: it’s called “Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls.” At the end, I share a bit about my thought process and what inspired it.

I started drawing this piece because I noticed myself becoming not present sometimes when I write or draw. And that sense of non-presence comes from chasing things, wanting to perform, wanting a certain outcome, believing that in that outcome I’ll finally get what I want.

But the reason I write is for myself, first and foremost. It’s how I connect with myself. When I’m full of feelings — it’s how I express them. When I feel misunderstood — it’s how I’m seen. When I can’t explain myself with spoken words or show my full self to the world — somehow, I can here. Writing brings me back to myself when I’m disconnected. It’s how I understand, ground, and ultimately reconnect — with myself and with others.

The second I started posting about it, though, I noticed moments of disconnection — moments of doing it for the outcome. And that changes the entire reason I started to begin with.

So I wrote something to myself to snap out of that chasing.

I decided to start keeping Shabbat for this very reason because it’s a way of forcing presence and I think it’s something many of us have lost today

Always, as I sat on my balcony, I went to write how I was feeling, with no outcome in mind because when we write from genuine presence and feeling and not perfection, our ideas flow much more freely.

And the first thing that came out was:

Dani Breathe Slow down Don’t perform Just be

Then, faintly in the distance, I heard:

“Don’t go chasing waterfalls, just stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to.”

So I wrote:

Don’t go chasing waterfalls. Just stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to.

Don’t go chasing waterfalls — Just do the things you love.

The more you chase, the less it flows. Sit where you are. Stick to what’s in front of you.

Maybe one day you’ll look up and see the waterfall you always wanted — But it won’t be from chasing. It’ll be from floating.

Floating down the river right in front of you, Enjoying the view, Surrounded by everything beautiful along the way.

The second we start doing anything for performance, it becomes tainted — not because performance is bad, but because there must be room for the messy, curious, creative parts to explore first.

Posting shouldn’t be the end goal. The end goal is connection — with yourself, with others, with the moment.

One heartfelt message from someone who feels seen is worth more than hundreds of likes. That’s why I do it. And that’s what I have to remember:

Just stick to the everyday things Dani. Stick to the everyday lessons. The things that will happen are the things that CAN happen, they don’t have to be grand. If they are not possible, they are not meant for you. Don’t chase waterfalls, Dani. Just watch the ones that appear along your journey.

Lately, I’ve realized — after I post something, I often feel less connected. Because chasing comes back.

The other night I wrote:

My mind is scattered because I’m chasing. When I slow down, I can find where I am now.

We need to know where we are now before we can ever walk to our next destination. If we don’t know where we are now, how can we ever know where to go next?

Don’t chase waterfalls. Stick to the everyday things, Dani. Stick to the lessons in front of you. The things that are meant for you will flow naturally.

Even while making this cartoon, I caught myself chasing again — trying to make it perfect. But life needs both: the flow state where ideas move freely, and the steering — the refinement that shapes them into something shareable.

First comes floating. Then comes steering.

I’m talking about writing here, but really, it’s everything in life. I notice this with training, with school, with work, with relationships — with anything, you name it. Don’t chase the outcome. Return to the reason you started — the thing that brings you love, happiness, presence, and connection.

That’s what will take you where you’re meant to go. There will always be waterfalls along the way — maybe not the exact one you imagined, but even better.

Because you’ll have friends. You’ll have yourself. You’ll have presence. You’ll have memories of the process — and in it, you will find the very thing you were chasing all along.