Lessons from a river

In my last post I talked about my river hiking trip and that how I learnt so much while I was there. I have to say that I am writing this post just for my benefit and not any readers of this blog. For all you guys I would say go out and do it yourself - I assure you that just like me, you will come back with a piece of your life's yummy pie!

1) I was able to do the hike in the time I did because I had that equipment - stick, neoprene socks, hiking shoes, waterproof bag in place! I could have done it without all these but it would only have made the hike harder, longer and painful.
Lesson :- In life, like on a river hike, if you aren't well prepared, you might still get where you want to but enough preparation takes you there quicker, easier and more confident!

2) On the river bed, there were pebbles of all sizes, and my immediate instinct was to step on the bigger ones. But I quickly realized that they were unstable and slippery. Stepping on the smaller ones helped me move faster and safer.
Lesson :- Looks can be deceptive! Also the seemingly insignificant things/people in life are the ones who really matter!

3) While there, I tried to calculate my every step. But there came points where no direction seemed the right direction to go in, but I had to move forward, and so I did.
Lesson:- Calculate all you can, but there will come points where you will have to trust your gut feel, without which there no going forward or backward!

4) The deeper elbows of the river were calmer than the others...and even though I couldn't see the river bed easily through them, walking through the calmer ones was easier than the shallower-violent ones!
Lesson :- Truly great people like deep elbows don't make a lot of noise. Reaching out to them may seem scary at first, but their greatness also means calmness and easy approach. And most likely they will help you make your journey far simpler than it is :)

5) I was very careful throughout the trek to not trip and fall in the water. But I still did. And I am glad I did, because I realized there was nothing to be scared of. I simply got up and started walking again...this time prepared to fall...because all I cared about then was getting to the final destination.
Lesson:- Take as many precautions as you want, you might still fall. Your goals will inspire you to get up and start walking again. Having a definite purpose is probably the single most important thing for success.

6) Given how scared I was of that water, all my concentration was just on the water and my next step. But all my tense nerves used to ease up whenever I looked up to take a good look of the beautiful canyon and soak in what a river could do - not in a day but definitely in a million years!
Lesson :- Every once in a while, take a break from what you are doing to see what you have caused so far. You might overestimate what you can do today, but never underestimate what you can do in a long period of time. And if by any chance you miss the point, it'll still be worth it to take a break and appreciate what life has given you!

7) Last but not the least, I couldn't have done this if hubby hadn't been persistent with his efforts to motivate me!
Lesson :- There is a lot of joy in being single, but you have no idea what's possible if you are with the right partner! I treasure him more than anything else in my life :)