Paddle Forward

If you're not moving, then you're standing still.
You don't have time to stand still.
Get moving.

I remember my first white water rafting trip when I was still a teenager in high school. I believe it was a chilly weekend in September, on a river nestled amongst the Pocono mountains of Pennsylvania. The rains were heavy that year, so the waters were higher than normal, and very fast moving over the rocks. We had been thoroughly briefed on the nature of the beast, and with paddles in hand, we challenged the turbulent waters of the Lehigh river mounted in our six passenger raft.

Somewhere in the middle of our trip, we encountered a particularly nasty set of rapids where timing and precise maneuvering would be critical in keeping our raft upright and us firmly in our seats. The sound of the water was deafening as we entered the maelstrom. The river quickly figured out we were novices and promptly took control of our raft, steering it towards some rather large rocks that eat boats like ours for breakfast.

I panicked in that moment and frantically began to back paddle against the unrelenting waters in an futile effort to halt our present course. Futile because a) the river was far stronger than I, and b) everyone else was still paddling forward. I remember screaming, "We're not going to make it! We're not going to make it!" as I tried in vain to move us away from the rocks.

"Paddle hard! Paddle FORWARD hard!" I heard another crew member scream. Without much of a choice, I plunged my paddle into the waters in a forward motion with every last bit of strength I had as I joined the others in moving the raft past the rocks. There we were, bounding headlong into the chaos, hoping that sheer determination alone would guide us through the daunting white waters.

The gamble paid off. We sailed swiftly past the obstacles and into a quiet, slow moving part of the Lehigh without so much as one bump against stone. I remember feeling rather embarrassed about my panic attack. I hesitated. I tried to put a rock down in a fast moving stream, instead of trusting the waters to carry me through. Self doubt nearly got the better of me that day, and had my crew members followed my lead of self doubt, I'm certain the my actions would have capsized the raft, and we all would have went for a swim.

Life moves in only one direction, and even if we want to stand still, we really can't. To do so, we risk capsizing all that we are. With metaphorical 'paddle' in hand, we can only move forward into the obstacles that challenge our path. I would learn this lesson many times over the years, and I continue to relearn it as life reveals even more challenging directions. Every time I feel the urge to back paddle, I remind myself that the quiet part of the river, the 'inner Zen' of the soul, lies before me, and not where I already am, or already have been.

Paddle forward. Paddle with everything you've got. This river of life ain't gonna stop moving, and neither should you.