Life is like the river, sometimes it sweeps you gently along and sometimes the rapids come out of nowhere. ~ Emma Smith

Navigating the River of Life

One of the ways I visualize our one way trip in life is to think of it like a river. You start in the headwaters in a tiny little stream, and bit by bit you move down stream. Pretty soon little streams flow into other little streams and then bigger ones until finally you end up in the main channel of a huge river until the end of your journey.

What I want to talk about tonight though, is how we float down that river. You see there are a couple of ways you can navigate the current of the river. The simplest option is to just hang onto something and let the river take you where it may. Of course, this method also means you give up all control and the river just takes you where it takes you. Which means you could end up in sweet, calm waters or you could end up in rapids or even over a waterfall.

You also can choose to paddle against the current, try and paddle upstream, fight it all the way. The problem with this approach of course is that the river will always win. If you fight against the current all the time, you still end up downstream anyway but you’re tired and frustrated all of the time.

So I’ve always thought to approach the river (and life) by not fighting the overall current, but trying to paddle with the current in the direction it goes but steering towards where I want to end up. The river is going to move you along, but you can control whether you head to the calm sections or run the rapids. And let’s face it, at different times in life sometimes you need peace and quiet, a slow easy float and other times we want adrenaline and excitement.

To bring this out of the philosophical and down to earth, what I’m saying is that while there are plenty of things in life you can’t control, aging, other people’s actions and the randomness of the universe, there is some control you do possess. You can decide to eat well, exercise, and not smoke which won’t eliminate, but will make illness less likely. You can decide who you surround yourself with, if you choose supportive, helpful folks, you’ll likely be happier than if you don’t. One of the largest things is that you can choose how to view any situation, no matter how bleak. And as a reminder I link you to my favorite ever Ministry of Happiness post, Remember the Sweet Things. A true reminder of how powerful that perception can be, it includes an audio link and it will be the best five minutes you spend this week, I promise.

Finally, to bring this full circle to my life, I’m closing in on open heart surgery. It’s of course absolutely fucking terrifying, the thought of being split open like a lobster with my heart stopped while someone cuts up parts of my heart and arteries for several hours should be terrifying. However, I choose to look at it this way, if I want to live, I have to have the surgery and I have no control over what happens during those several hours. I have chosen to look at the whole thing this way, I can’t control the surgery so there’s no point in worrying about it. So I’m looking at it as the best way to be able to do all of the things I still want to do in life. A successful surgery and recovery allows me to retire, to travel and even return to long-distance hiking. It’s all in the way you decide to view things. So to steal a cliche that really does work, try and look on the bright side of things and you’ll have happier days my friends. ~ Rev Kane