Just Keep Paddling
I white water kayaked in the 80’s when I was going to college in Bozeman, Montana. We did some crazy, wonderfully cool stuff and this was no exception.
My partner and I each had a kayak, took classes for rafting in the High School pool, and felt we knew enough to go have some fun. I was strong and I was smart (enough to be at least mildly cautious when needed), but I didn’t know how to ‘flip’ in the kayak should I tip over. He did of course, along with our friend Joe who was an expert kayaker. I would always just have to bail instead. And to be honest, the sheer strength of moving water, especially rapids, freaked me out a bit and that never helps when you’re hanging upside down wondering if a rock is going to meet your face while you’re trying to get control of your fear.
So when we decided to kayak some intense rapids on the Gallatin River one day, there was a particular stretch that, when scouting the river before hand, I did NOT want to attempt. No way, no how. The river took a sharp left turn and ran up against a rock wall before veering back right. The whitewater was strong and swift and I didn’t think twice about chickening out when I saw it.
They obliged my faintness of heart for this stretch, and we came up with a plan. Joe, with his expertise, was going to tell me as we approached in our kayaks, when I was supposed to pull a quick Eddy and get out, meet them on the other side and get back in. This was somewhere around ‘The Green Bridge’. The Green Bridge? I could spot that landmark, I thought. Easy Peasy.
Well…. you know how things have a different perspective going one way versus another?
About 2/3 of the way into our kayaking, I see Joe say something to me. ( I’m saying ‘see’ because I couldn’t ‘hear’ what he was saying in the rush of the water, and I totally missed ‘The Green Bridge’. ) So I holler back to Joe, “What?!”. And he says something to me again. Another “What?!” comes out of my mouth. Then I DO hear him say, “Just keep paddling!” I look back to the river just in time to see the left turn mentioned above, along with the rock wall and huge waves.
“Ah, Shit! I’m screwed,” is all I could think. But then something else happened.
With no time to even think about starting to get the freak factor under control, I did exactly what he told me to do. Through every single rapid, and around both turns, no matter what, I just kept paddling. And guess what? I made it. Without tipping over, without losing my paddle, without throwing up or yelling (too many) obscenities. I made it. Because I just kept paddling. And you know what else? I loved it.
So while on the River of Life, and unable to bail when you wanted to or planned on because you got angry, nervous or scared, just took a wrong turn, or you feel like giving up…….
Just say “F#!k It”, and Keep Paddling! I guarantee you WILL surprise yourself.
On the River of Life, sometimes you just have to say………..
