How to Have A Perfect Joy-filled Day

About six years ago, I started kayaking. The first year or so, I always kayaked on the same smooth lake … and I only went on wind-still days. Sometimes I went with a friend … other times I went alone. I’d slowly paddle in circles around the edges watching the birds and chipmunks or looking for turtles sunning themselves. With time, I began ‘racing’ across the widest part of the lake … against my friend or timing myself to see if I could improve from week to week. I loved being out in nature and with time began seeing/feeling the effects in my arms and that motivated me do more laps around the lake.

Then one day I decided to go to another lake. At the far end of that lake, I found a small bridge that I could paddle under and be in another section of the lake. I paddled around it and discovered a stream that was big enough for me to paddle in for a short distance … before rocks forced me to turn around. Paddling in this small creek was more fun than going in circles on a lake, so I began dreaming of kayaking on a river.

Kayaking on a river requires more planning … maps have to be read, water levels have to be checked and a vehicle has to be dropped off at the end point. And while it’s safe to kayak alone on a lake, it’s not safe to be alone on a river, so schedules have to be coordinated with fellow kayakers.

When all that is done and I’m on the river, I love the process of moving from point A to point B. I enjoyed the exhilaration of floating fast through the rapids and the challenge of paddling around rocks. I enjoy seeing areas and sights that I would never see otherwise. I’ve seen bald eagles. I should study birds to be able to identify the many others I’ve seen.

Recently I’ve been struck with the process of how I went from not even knowing what a kayak was … to spending hours in a kayak on a river.

It made me realize that I don’t need to allow things in life to intimidate me … things which I know nothing about. I need to research, learn the lingo, get the equipment and start slow (maybe even go in circles at first) I need to challenge myself to succeed in small ways, to gain confidence and then be motivated to try more.

I have to be willing to allow things/events/people to pull me forward to try things that I’ve never tried before. I have to put some boundaries in place to prevent getting blown off track by a strong wind or set my set my goals too high. I need to prepare, train and plan … so I don’t end up being up a creek without a paddle.

A few years after I began kayaking, my husband and I spent a day on Pine Creek, kayaking through what’s known as the PA Grand Canyon. It was warm and sunny. The water levels were good. Our packed lunch tasted heavenly. It ended up being a perfect day. Seriously, a perfect, joy-filled day.

Are there things you like to try … maybe cooking, a new job, writing, sewing, exercising, etc. Are you intimidated by the process … especially if you have to learn all kinds of new thing? Stop worrying about whether you will get ‘there’ or not … learning new things is good for your mind no matter what the end result is. I didn’t know if I would ever get off the smooth lake, but now kayaking has taken me places I never thought I would go. What baby steps can you take to begin learning and to start the process of doing something new?

Start now and someday you could find yourself floating along having a perfect joy-filled day … doing something which you’ve never done before.

This past weekend I did Pine Creek for the third time. Find out tomorrow whether or now I had another perfect day. Hint … the sun didn’t shine and it was colder.