Religious Zen

I took a trip today.

I decided to take a short trip with my wife at a local canoe livery. It was very relaxing and lasted about two or three hours. We went with a group of friends and had a great time. Over the course of those hours I spent some time meditating while floating downstream and noticed just how similar canoeing and real life can be.

Our friends, my wife, and I set out on a nice relaxing canoe ride in the early afternoon. It was extremely enjoyable even from the beginning! As we began there were already many, many groups that had gone before us that we could see upstream, and some beyond our site. Others had not yet entered the river. The river’s current was strong enough to float us downstream even if we didn’t paddle. Sometimes, though, we would need to use our oars to steer ourselves in the right direction.

Several times during the trip, the river was so low that we had to get out and push it over some rocks, or try to paddle hard in order to dodge them altogether. Some of these, bumps, though, were unavoidable. My wife and I worked together to get through them all, however.

During our time on the river some of our friends tipped their canoes. Some tipped them many times over! Their still-dry peers would often help them back in their canoe and give them tips on staying dry and not falling off their boat.

Some people on the river passed us by. Sometimes we passed slower paddlers. We saw people of all kinds on the journey. Some had expensive canoes, and some had rickety ones.

In the end, though, we all ended up in the same place. We landed on the side of the river, took off our life jackets and put our paddles back. Then all of us went on to our final destinations, wherever they may have led for each person.

Okay, okay, maybe you aren’t too much for analogies, but I am! Allow me to explain what this experience (if you haven’t pulled something useful out of it already) has showed me.

The Canoe Journey of Life…and other warm fuzzy feelings.

The River: Ah, the river. It is the time we have alloted on this great planet. Some may paddle faster than others and leave it sooner, and some may just float and enjoy the ride. No matter where you are physically on the river, eventually the current takes everybody to the same destination. It can be delayed by paddling left and right or slowing yourself down, but eventually you will find yourself at the end of the journey.

This doesn’t really need to be as depressing as it sounds. While everyone flows on the same river, we are each free to discover our own paths. As it is famously said, “It is not about the destination, but the journey.”

Some may think you are crazy for going over to the fast current, they may even think it blasphemous. But you have the oar in your hands, and you are free to do with your life what you will, no matter how anyone else might try to steer you in their “right” direction. They can see no farther down the path than you can, and the people who have already finished their journey do not paddle back upstream to tell everyone what lies ahead. So embrace the freedom that the current brings and know that what you do with your own canoe is just as valid as what anyone else is doing.

Others on the river: The others on the river are everyone else- past, present, and future. Some will have already gone downstream far ahead of you. Others have already finished their journey. Some are along for the ride with you, and some haven’t yet begun. Some will pass you on the way and get off sooner, while others may slow down and let you move on.

The canoe buddies that paddle a long side you may be with you for awhile while your paths cross, only to leave once your paths diverge once again. Some people will be with you only for a season, and this is as it should be. They may have been by your canoe to teach you something, like how to paddle properly, or perhaps you taught them a thing or two? Don’t try too hard to keep yourselves together when the currents of life take you in seperate directions. It may cause one of you to fall into the river. Let everything flow naturally, with the river, and not against it.

Others will be next to you for your entire trip. They generally started with you and will probably finish around the same time you do. These are the folk that help you get back into your canoe when you’ve messed up and fallen off. Cherish these true friends that you have, because life’s stream may carry them away to the end quicker than you would like.

Your boat: Your canoe is your own life, and you are free to do with it what you will. You might start off with a shabby one, but if you work hard you may be able to upgrade to a better one as time goes by. Of course, you could also wreck it as much as you’d like or even break it to pieces, but that would end your journey prematurely without experiencing all the river had to offer.

You will probably have canoe buddies who paddle a long side you as you go on your journey. Perhaps you will find your own fellow canoers to paddle alongside? One day, if it something you want, you might pick up someone (a spouse) to ride in the same boat with you, sharing the river with you as you go. You will be inseparable and better able to take on the rocks and bumps the current throws at you. Realize, though, that what you do thereafter with your own boat will effect your partner’s as well. You will sink or paddle together.

You might decide to slow down and take life easy. Or you could decide to paddle twice as hard in order to get to the things you want, or avoid the things you don’t want. This can be tiring if it is kept up for too long, though, so don’t wear yourself out and get taken away in a dangerous current!

Rocky bumps and logs: Many will encounter obstacles on this journey, some more than others. Do your best to avoid these while looking ahead instead of waiting to the last minute when it will be too late. Even if you do run aground, learn from the experience and you will improve on the next time you come across a large rock or fallen tree.

Some challenges will be as small as few pebbles which you will easily sweep aside with your oar. Others will be large obstacles which only you can overcome with great determination, or help from your friends.

Sometimes, though, they may knock you out of your canoe altogether! This is never good and is an easy way to leave the river sooner rather than later. Hopefully you will have good canoe buddies that will help you back into your boat, or perhaps someone who shared the same boat with you will help you and make it all the easier to get back on your journey.

The end of the journey: Eventually, everybody must come to the end. It doesn’t matter if you had a rickety little canoe, or an expensive and fast boat. Everybody- no matter how pricey and glamorous the canoe, how quick they paddled, or how much they tried to slow themselves down- will eventually reach their final destination.

What happens here on out is sort of a mystery. We’ve only been told in short glimpses and fables. Some believe that there is a great place to go afterwards with all the free food and entertainment that one could get. Others believe that once we reach the end of the journey we reflect on our mistakes and lessons we’ve successfully learned and then get back in our canoe and do it all over again. Still others believe that the end of the journey is just that- the end. They instead do not focus on what they will be doing when they get off their boat, but what they can be doing now to improve their own quality of life on the river as well as others.

One thing unites them all, however: nobody knows except the people who have gone before us. It is impossible to say what lies at the end of each of our journeys until we have actually crossed the finish line. Some may tell us what they think comes next, but it is only speculation- they are right there in the river with you! So instead of trying to convince others that there is a free buffet, why not try to help them out with their struggles on the river now? Perhaps their way of paddling or the path they take is just as efficient and good as yours? Either way one thing is clear: enjoy the river while you’re on it.

That’s life.

And there you have my musings on this day’s events. Take it for what you will, it is only my own observations, for what they are worth. I only hope that this will help all who read it to think about slowing down and enjoying the flow of the river rather than trying to go against it or ruin other people’s journeys. It’s your canoe, however, so make the best of it while you can and hope that you you will steer clear of the river’s bumps, or learn from them.

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