River of Doubt

Just finished watching "Hotel Charley Volume 2:River of Doubt" It was interesting, not the standard kayak porn. A lot of the kayak videos are just highlights, this was a bit more comprehensive. It was of expedition trips to Columbia, Costa Rica, India, and Mexico. One of the things I like most about the kayak videos is just the scenery. Many of these places you can't reach any other way, so many times they are untouched. I so would love to have an HD TV and an upscaling DVD player, that would make these look even more sweet. One of the other things about this video is that it wasn't a bunch of hot shots doing stupid things to look cool. These are pretty ordinary guys (other than EJ) and they're just out doing what they love. It was an interesting video. Not the most exciting, but it was interesting.

Canoe Trip

Went on a canoe trip with friends today. We went on the Tippecanoe River up by Delphi. It was a great day for it, we got out early before it got too hot. Sadly, the river wasn't as clean as I remembered it. It was pretty nasty really. I took my kayaks along, to get some time in. It was a good time all together.

Photos and Info

July 4 - Dependance Day

God has been working on some things in me lately. I'm an independent person, I tend to do my own thing when I feel like doing it and I hate asking for help. Going to movies or a nice dinner are about the only things that I won't do by myself. Yet God is teaching me that always doing things on my own is not necessarily a good thing. While doing my own thing offers a lot of freedom, it puts me in a dangerous place and it robs me of the joy of sharing life with others. It also allows me to avoid being challenged and I'm not able to help others who need someone to help them through the tough stuff.

Here's my kayaking analogy (I may eventually put this in a book, I'm collecting thoughts). Going down river by myself means I don't have to worry about anyone else. I'm on my schedule and I can do exactly what I want to do. I don't have to care about anyone else, it's all about me. But if I end up in a dangerous situation, I'm on my own. There is no one there who can throw me a rope or bring my boat to shore. If I hit my head on a rock and get knocked out, I'm done. I've also found that the glory stories aren't quite as glorious if there's no one there to share it with. If I'm on my own, I could tell any story I wanted to and people may believe it, but have no reason to get excited about it. But if my buddies are there, we can celebrate that together for ages. When I rafted the Gauley, we had a swim at Sweet's Falls. Those of us who went through that still talk about it in excited tones, we shared the experience and shared something unique. People who weren't there don't understand. I have also found that when I'm on my own, I don't need to push myself. I can take the easy lines and avoid doing the stuff that I don't want to do. I need people by my side to push me to grow and make me better. I also need to come along side those who are also trying to learn. As a kayaker I don't always feel like I have much to offer. A lot of times I feel like I'm doing good to keep myself upright in the water. But I also have to remember that I can encourage other people who are new and I can make sure they aren't alone. I know that I appreciate the people who have taken the time to come along side me for encouragement and support, I need to return the favor.

I'm slowly learning that being independent may not be as great of a thing as I think it is. I need to learn how to share what is going on with me and allow people to help me. I need to swallow my pride and think of others. I need to realize that there are people who have a lot to offer me, and I have a lot to offer them. That we can share the joys of the journey together and that will be greater than what each of us seeks on our own.

Keeping your head

So I went up to the whitewater course yesterday and had a great day of kayaking. When I went a month ago I was pretty scared, this time I was pretty comfortable. I knew the course and knew that I could handle it. That doesn't mean it won't humble me from time to time, but that I'm able to competently run the course. I worked on some ferries, eddy turns, and s-turns at the bottom, where the Race runs into the St Joe. Before they opened the gates to the Race it was pretty tame. I wasn't totally hitting my eddy turns right, but I was doing pretty decent. But once they opened the gates it was a different story. A good analogy would be stepping onto a treadmill set for 8 minute miles, while wearing roller blades. It's doable, but you'd better do it right or you are going down. I think I got flipped 6 times. But here's the thing, I rolled back up every time.

It was just a matter of how important being mentally prepared and taking time to think through your situation before trying to react. A few months ago on the Flatrock I hit an eddy line wrong, it flipped me, and I swam. I knew how to roll my kayak, I can do it pretty well. But mentally I wasn't prepared. When it happened, I paniced and I forgot my training and what I knew to be true. But yesterday I was ready for it. I rolled 6 times in some challenging currents. It wasn't really because my roll was any better than it was a couple of months ago, it was because mentally I was ready for it. Instead of panicing I set up in the position, counted to 3 to calm myself, and then rolled. I came up fine without a problem (except the time I was still in the eddy line and it flipped me again, but I rolled up again).

The same thing applies to life. So often we have one little thing go wrong and we let it mess us up. Our car gets hit in traffic, someone has cancer, we get laid off our job, someone we love betrays us. These are all bad things and are going to impact us. The question is how we are going to deal with it. Is it going to take us out? Or are we going to take a moment to collect ourselves, remind ourselves of what we know to be true, and then respond with what we know to be true? Maybe the question we need to ask is do we have something solid to carry us through the hard times? Do we know how to respond that will allow us to continue on safely?

I'm training on a whitewater course, and it's a pretty safe place to learn. But even on the course one of the guys that is teaching me pointed out that we have to keep an eye on what is down stream of the next obstacle. The hole in front of us may be our next concern, but there may be a hole just past that we have to deal with also. We're going to get worked from time to time, but we need to react to that right or the next hole is going to work us too.