Sluice

Camping beside the narrow Canal du Midi river

right by a quiet sluice

morning was sunny and mild and romantically peaceful

suddenly a boat comes upstream

a larger family on one of these comfy 15m-riveryachts

I went looking, a coffee in hand, and it works like that:

They pass through an open gate into a slightly roundish river-wide chamber

there they tie the boat so it doesn't bump around too much

Then: the Sluice-guard comes out

He closes the heavy flood-gate behind them

cuts them off from the stream they came up from

The water beyond the upper gate is on a way higher level

Now he opens the upper gate, but: just by a little!

There is not meant to be a shock-wave, causing damage

The water flows continuously in and lifts the boat onto the higher level

Now it gets untied and the upper gate fully opens

the boat now carefully moves out to travel the higher river

When the boat is gone, the sluice-guard closes the upper gate again

and...just as slow...opens the lower gate

to gently release the water from the chamber and

not cause any currents or damage to the river-life below

So:

The river is life in the course of time

The boat is your body and the crew is your spirit

the sluice-guard is a messenger of the great mystery

The water coming in and lifting you is the deep stream of soul

and the sluice is: sincere and carefully designed ritual!