Whitewater Wisdom

In honor of summer, I’m doing something a little different in this post. Quite a few years ago now, when I was in middle school, my parents and I took our first whitewater rafting trip in North Carolina on the French Broad River. I wrote this shortly afterwards.

I don’t know how I’ve kept it all these years, but I was gratified to discover that so many years ago, I had already begun to discover how good a philosophy teacher nature could be. I have a much more complex concept of this now, but I wasn’t wrong back then. To be honest, sometimes I think I’ll spend my whole life trying to remember things I knew when I was five years old, things the world has trained out of me.

All that aside, here are some thoughts on whitewater rafting and life philosophy. Enjoy!

1. Rocks don’t always tip you over; sometimes your guide steers you into them to help you change direction.
2. If you tip over, it’s not the end of the world.
3. When you’re paddling, don’t forget to enjoy the scenery. When you’re enjoying the scenery, don’t forget to paddle!
4. When I feel a little creative, I pull out some watercolors. When God feels a little creative, he makes the French Broad River.
5. When you have two paths to choose, sometimes they’re both about the same. Sometimes one’s a lot worse than the other, but they go the same place. Sometimes they go to completely separate places. Usually, you only know where to go by following your guide. And usually, you don’t find out what would have happened if you’d gone the other way.
6. Everything’s easier in a team – if you’re a great paddler, but you’re not working with everyone else, you’re a hurt instead of a help.
7. If you find yourself stuck, sometimes you just have to get out and push.
8. Sometimes the current will take you where you need to go. Sometimes it will ram you up on a rock. Steer your course mindful of, but not dependent on, the current.
9. Some rocks you can’t see until you hit them.
10. The same rapids can be different difficulties depending on the time and the person.
11. Even if things get temporarily covered by water, they’re still there.
12. If you’re spinning in circles, there’s a good chance you’ll be going down the rapids backwards.
13. There is almost always more than one way to navigate an obstacle. However, all ways are not always equally good.
14. Some rapids are hard because they’re big. Some are hard because they’re complicated. And some are hard just because they splash a lot of water around.
15. If you’re going over a big drop, grit your teeth and smile – you never know who might be watching (or waiting with a camera) to catch your expression as you drop.
16. When you trust your guide, even rapids can be something fun!

“Whitewater Rafting – Naranjo River – Costa Rica” by David Berkowitz is licensed under CC BY 2.0