I've made no secret in my blog that I'm 50. I have kids, I have worries, I have a few physical issues. But I have learned one thing that has been life-changing for me. Your lot in life really is determined by your attitude. I read "The Secret" when they featured it on Oprah, tried to talk my son into making victory boards? Is that what they were called? I also read every other book that Oprah featured on spirituality, changing your life, blah blah blah. Most of it did not resonate at all; it might just have well have been written in Greek.
These past five, six years really have been a journey for me. And through it all has been a wonderful revelation, an epiphany of sorts. Here it is: You cannot find until you seek. Cannot bring about change if you aren't receptive. And you must be humble on a cellular level. It is a spiritual thing.
I don't have a lot of opportunities to go to church. It's my busiest day at work. My Pastor told me once that worship isn't what you do in the building on Sunday morning, it's much more what you do once you leave it. I have embraced that, and I am happy with myself in that regard. Pastor Andy does come in to see me every couple of weeks, in case I need a tuneup. Lol.
What does this have to do with kayaking? Everything, in my case. My church is when I put that paddle in the water and push off the dock. My church is when I hear nothing but water and my own breathing. It's when I experience the awesome power of everything I have been given out there on the lake on any particular morning. I have found that when I am reduced to that level out there on the water, I am free to think with clarity, dream large, and plan for my life.
I've got big plans, still. I'm excited to say that I've drawn a road map, and am officially at the beginning of my journey now. More details to follow on that.
Find a kayak, and be forever changed. I was.
TKM
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
A morning paddle sets the tone for the day.
I often wake up early and make those first few steps out of bed feeling really stiff and not really feeling the exercise groove. The knees are stiff, I may or may not have gotten a good night's sleep. That sort of thing. But never has there been a day when I have regretted exercising after the fact.
Never.
The lake in the morning is so beautiful. This is such a beautiful time of year. There is definitely a chill in the air, but the water is still quite warm. I know in a couple of weeks we'll be seeing some fog in the mornings. Sometimes it has the feel of a cathedral, the awesomeness and power of physical beauty is so intense. And today it was all mine.
My time in karate has definitely taught me the value of a good stretch routine. When I paddle I definitely stretch everything out. That enables me to get in the boat and take off, whereas if I don't, my back muscles are tired and feel tangled after a kilometer or two. After my stretching, I hit the water.
Lots of wildlife to see today. The grey herons were out in full force. One of them was perched atop a tree in the lake, and I wished I had a camera with me. I noticed as I paddled by that someone had stuck a pink piece of gum on the tree as well, which reminded me that as beautiful and remote as this spot feels sometimes, it most certainly is not untouched by the human hand. I called out to the bird in my poor imitation of his call. He just flew away. Well, I thought so anyway.
My paddle took me under the bridge and back into the cove at the river's bend. The lake has really dropped this summer, and there a lot more trees sticking out of the water now. A lot more reasons not to get lost in thought as I find it so easy to do out there. I made my paddle around the island and began the paddle back to the boathouse. A breeze kicked in just as I rounded the island; it feel really good. I felt alone out there, in a good way. This is the time when I talk things out with myself. Out loud. It occurs to me once in a while that I might look like a nut job out there chirping to myself. As always, I don't care.
We all need someplace we can go to find peace, and clarity. This is my place. I have the best ideas on the lake in the morning, where I can get away unencumbered by stuff at home or issues on the job. As I combed the surface for trees on the way bank, I realized again how glad I was that this is mine. No time to wax poetic, however, because right in front of me my friend the grey heron was gliding toward me and it didn't look like he planned to stop. Was he fishing? Was he simply playing chicken with the lady in the kayak? I knew that I would need to take evasive action (flip) if he didn't pull up soon.....he did. Phew.
Touche, Mr. Grey Heron.
For now, enjoy your space. And it it's out on the lake in the water, I'll see you there. But if I'm talking to myself, well, you know the deal.
TKM
Never.
The lake in the morning is so beautiful. This is such a beautiful time of year. There is definitely a chill in the air, but the water is still quite warm. I know in a couple of weeks we'll be seeing some fog in the mornings. Sometimes it has the feel of a cathedral, the awesomeness and power of physical beauty is so intense. And today it was all mine.
My time in karate has definitely taught me the value of a good stretch routine. When I paddle I definitely stretch everything out. That enables me to get in the boat and take off, whereas if I don't, my back muscles are tired and feel tangled after a kilometer or two. After my stretching, I hit the water.
Lots of wildlife to see today. The grey herons were out in full force. One of them was perched atop a tree in the lake, and I wished I had a camera with me. I noticed as I paddled by that someone had stuck a pink piece of gum on the tree as well, which reminded me that as beautiful and remote as this spot feels sometimes, it most certainly is not untouched by the human hand. I called out to the bird in my poor imitation of his call. He just flew away. Well, I thought so anyway.
My paddle took me under the bridge and back into the cove at the river's bend. The lake has really dropped this summer, and there a lot more trees sticking out of the water now. A lot more reasons not to get lost in thought as I find it so easy to do out there. I made my paddle around the island and began the paddle back to the boathouse. A breeze kicked in just as I rounded the island; it feel really good. I felt alone out there, in a good way. This is the time when I talk things out with myself. Out loud. It occurs to me once in a while that I might look like a nut job out there chirping to myself. As always, I don't care.
We all need someplace we can go to find peace, and clarity. This is my place. I have the best ideas on the lake in the morning, where I can get away unencumbered by stuff at home or issues on the job. As I combed the surface for trees on the way bank, I realized again how glad I was that this is mine. No time to wax poetic, however, because right in front of me my friend the grey heron was gliding toward me and it didn't look like he planned to stop. Was he fishing? Was he simply playing chicken with the lady in the kayak? I knew that I would need to take evasive action (flip) if he didn't pull up soon.....he did. Phew.
Touche, Mr. Grey Heron.
For now, enjoy your space. And it it's out on the lake in the water, I'll see you there. But if I'm talking to myself, well, you know the deal.
TKM
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Sometimes you just need a little push..
Had dinner with my friend John last night. He's really a unique guy. Very spiritual, and not afraid to just chuck it all and move on to something new life. I've done that myself, a couple of times, but it's frankly not for everyone.
I knew when I asked John out to dinner last night that he was the guy that I needed to talk to right now in my life.
Over chips and salsa we talked about passion and being compelled to do certain things in your life. I told him about my dreams and my goals for The Kayak Mom. It felt really good to finally say some of these things out loud. But I feel like I now have someone to hold me accountable, and to kick me in the ass when I look for a reason not to leave behind what I do now in favor of something that I would love to spend my life doing.
I am fortunate in that I have opportunities coming up to dive right into what I need to do. I also will sit down with a career counselor when I go up to Penn State next month and have them tell me exactly what it is that I need to do to incorporate The Kayak Mom. It's go time. I hate to "go Oprah" again, but I'm pretty sure that it was her who said "this is not a dress rehearsal." I hope the club is ready, because I'm gonna make some really special things happen.
Hang on.
TKM
I knew when I asked John out to dinner last night that he was the guy that I needed to talk to right now in my life.
Over chips and salsa we talked about passion and being compelled to do certain things in your life. I told him about my dreams and my goals for The Kayak Mom. It felt really good to finally say some of these things out loud. But I feel like I now have someone to hold me accountable, and to kick me in the ass when I look for a reason not to leave behind what I do now in favor of something that I would love to spend my life doing.
I am fortunate in that I have opportunities coming up to dive right into what I need to do. I also will sit down with a career counselor when I go up to Penn State next month and have them tell me exactly what it is that I need to do to incorporate The Kayak Mom. It's go time. I hate to "go Oprah" again, but I'm pretty sure that it was her who said "this is not a dress rehearsal." I hope the club is ready, because I'm gonna make some really special things happen.
Hang on.
TKM
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Making it work for me..
So, it's been a long time since I've put pen to paper, so to speak. Wow. Who ever thought that "pen to paper" would be followed by "so to speak?" Again, wow. The last couple of weeks have been really nuts around here, with work and karate, and of course life.
Time to regain my focus. I've been thinking a lot lately about who exactly The Kayak Mom is, and what exactly is her mission statement. I've been a little bit caught up in all of the emotional end of the Penn State situation. It's been fascinating interacting with members of the football team on Twitter. The program has an air of spirituality around it that I haven't seen before. That must be a result of Coach O'Brien and his unique take on life, along with the truly daunting task that these young men have set before them. I will admit that I cried before the start of the game when the crowd sang the alma mater and when players prayed on the sideline for more than just an 85 yard touchdown return. It's so much bigger.
Once again I find myself off on that familiar tangent, but before I right myself I need to say that although the team lost, I admire these young men so much. They had the weight of the world on their shoulders. The weight of this whole situation; thinking they could fix it all with one win. I can't imagine my own son dealing with that pressure. Now that the first week is over, I hope that they can focus on just the task at hand...
But again, I digress. I mention Twitter because my twitter feed is the Kayak Mom, and really hasn't been too much about that as of late. Last time I was in State College, I went to a "creating your brand" workshop in the Alumni Center, and they advised to not tweet personal stuff on your professional twitter feed. So, that's the first change I need to make. Easy enough, I guess. So, that's the change I'm making this week, and hopefully my non-kayak followers will make the change along with me!
Big local thing coming up here soon. Our club will be represented, so I've decided that this will be the coming out party for the Kayak Mom. Time to get out there and let people know who I am on a local scale and get ready to spend all of my days off working toward my goal of making this my career. A friend of mine posted a picture on facebook which was captioned with "A year from now you will wish you had started today." I don't know if that meant weight loss, career change, whatever. But, it really spoke to me.
So, here I go. Soon, you'll know I am.
TKM
Time to regain my focus. I've been thinking a lot lately about who exactly The Kayak Mom is, and what exactly is her mission statement. I've been a little bit caught up in all of the emotional end of the Penn State situation. It's been fascinating interacting with members of the football team on Twitter. The program has an air of spirituality around it that I haven't seen before. That must be a result of Coach O'Brien and his unique take on life, along with the truly daunting task that these young men have set before them. I will admit that I cried before the start of the game when the crowd sang the alma mater and when players prayed on the sideline for more than just an 85 yard touchdown return. It's so much bigger.
Once again I find myself off on that familiar tangent, but before I right myself I need to say that although the team lost, I admire these young men so much. They had the weight of the world on their shoulders. The weight of this whole situation; thinking they could fix it all with one win. I can't imagine my own son dealing with that pressure. Now that the first week is over, I hope that they can focus on just the task at hand...
But again, I digress. I mention Twitter because my twitter feed is the Kayak Mom, and really hasn't been too much about that as of late. Last time I was in State College, I went to a "creating your brand" workshop in the Alumni Center, and they advised to not tweet personal stuff on your professional twitter feed. So, that's the first change I need to make. Easy enough, I guess. So, that's the change I'm making this week, and hopefully my non-kayak followers will make the change along with me!
Big local thing coming up here soon. Our club will be represented, so I've decided that this will be the coming out party for the Kayak Mom. Time to get out there and let people know who I am on a local scale and get ready to spend all of my days off working toward my goal of making this my career. A friend of mine posted a picture on facebook which was captioned with "A year from now you will wish you had started today." I don't know if that meant weight loss, career change, whatever. But, it really spoke to me.
So, here I go. Soon, you'll know I am.
TKM
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)