Nousmadic

Tonle Sap is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and a part of the Mekong River system.

We decided to go there while we were travelling around Cambodia during the dry season, which is from November to April, when the lake has a surface of 2,500 square km. During the wet season however, from May to October, the lake swells 6 times, covers 16,000 square km and the level water rises over 9 meters.

Kampong Khleang is one of the many villages around this big Cambodian lake. It has a population of around 6,000 people living in stilted and floating houses. The floating ones are moved according to the water levels of Tonle Sap Lake, and during the dry season, the houses are more or less on the lake’s edge.

This eternal cycle of the seasons dictates the way of life for the people that live around the lake. It makes them connected and synchronised with the surrounding nature.

It’s all about adaptability. The change of seasons here, means the change of the way people go about their daily lives. Where there were roads during the dry season, now it’s all covered by water.

Similarly in our lives, flexibility and openness to change, can be equally powerful.

When we’re adaptable, we can shift our mindset and actions to suit different situations, making us better equipped to handle life’s twists and turns.

And yet, when we most need to learn, change, and adapt, we are most likely to react with old approaches that aren’t suited to our new situation, leading to poorer decisions and ineffective solutions. This is the adaptability paradox.

We all need to be more like water. It flows relentlessly, finding a way even when met with barriers.