River Trip

Two or three years ago I spent an extended Labor Day weekend on a canoe trip down the Green River with eleven other women. We camped, canoed, divvied up chocolate bars around the fire at night and drank cowboy coffee (with grounds and no cream) in the mornings. The first six hours of the trip I wondered what I had gotten myself into. The first night, I finally crawled out of my tent to escape my tent-mate’s snoring and rolled my sleeping bag out under the stars. This is the first time that I think that I have ever done that. Slept outside, all night under the stars. It was incredible.

They did have us do some journaling and other soul-seeking exercises. I felt kind of sheepish at first. But actually got a lot more out of that process than I thought. I came home from the trip very inspired. Recently I found my journal and was amazed at what I had written about “What I Learned on My River Trip.” It reminded me to always think about all sides of people, experiences, moods, decisions, beliefs.

Hope it helps others to think too…

Don’t trust your first impressions. Trust your first impressions. Drink lots of water. Don’t drink too much water. Paddle hard. Hardly paddle. Share your fears. Lose your fears. Don’t forget your sarong. Always plan for weather. Be prepared. Be quiet. Kind words are remembered. Everybody has many stories. Struggles are part of feeling satisfaction. There is always more to learn. Learning something is better than learning nothing. Small things can make big impressions. Being physically active makes the day better. You’re never too old. If you don’t steer right, it doesn’t matter how fast you are going, you’ll never get there.