Thoughts from Kayaking

"I've looked into this option and it could work if we did this...but I also looked into this other option which could help in this situation." As I paddled my kayak ahead down the stream I rambled on and on about the research I had been doing for post-grad plans. I kept talking about all the different options I knew of and the various ideas I had been concocting that day. Before I knew it I had paddled my way a significant distance away from my kayaking partner...my date.

My lovely girlfriend finally caught up to me and pointed out a baby eagle flying above us. I looked up briefly to see this beautiful creature and then returned to my ramblings. The lovely woman of valor next to me continued to look around the river at the beautiful green forest and all the creatures around it. Then a thought from my past sputtered through my mind. I began to bring up old memories and experiences from before. I talked and talked as I slowly fell behind my companion until I found myself just as far behind her as I had previously been in front of her. Falling behind as I journeyed down memory lane.

THUNK. My kayak stopped dead in its tracks. I tried to scoot it forward but, it simply would not moved. bottomed out. I had bottomed out. I quickly got out of my kayak and brought it up towards where my dearest was and began to place it back in the water.

"That's not where you put it." She smiled at me as I looked quizzically at her. In my confusion, she walked over to me and pointed towards where we had come from. "We are not there anymore..." then she pointed to where we were headed. "We are not there yet..." finally she motioned around us. "This is where we are at now. This is our present. Be here, now." 

As I looked around at God's creation and looked at the woman next to me I realized I had the wrong focus. I had been focusing too much on either the past or what I could do for the future. I was not focusing on the present while I was on this date with my amazing girlfriend. This kayaking trip taught me that though Senior year may have stress and senioritis, I need to learn to be truly present with those around me. As a great speaker once said to me, "If you know what God wants you to do in the present when the future comes you'll know what he wants you to do because you knew what He was calling you to in that present."

We all need that person in our life who can anchor us back to the present and help us see the beauty all around us.