[Nevertheless] Life's Like That

I often experience anxiety when even thinking about trying something new.

The teens' eyes lit up when tubing down the Saco River was mentioned as a possibility during our week at Camp Calumet. I took a deep breath and suggested we sign up, remembering the year I spent saying yes to things I feared and all the good experiences I had during that year that I wouldn't have otherwise had. 

With my physical issues, my major worries were getting into and out of the tube and what might happen if I fell out somewhere along the way. Upon arriving and meeting a couple friends there, I put on a brave face and was very much relieved that I wasn't the only one who hadn't been tubing down a river before and also not the only one who was a bit nervous. 

Getting onto the tube was much easier than I thought it would be - and more comfortable as well. 

Once we got going, I began to relax and enjoy the journey. 

The sky was absolutely gorgeous.

The rock formations, the greenery, the pebbled river bottom captivated me as my husband and I vacillated between quiet conversation and taking in nature's beauty...and maybe laughing a bit at the teens as they tried to get unstuck a time or two.

Mostly we just went with the flow. Occasionally, it was necessary to paddle a bit to avoid obstacles or push off of an obstruction to get ourselves back into the current. 

Life is like that. Sometimes we allow fear to dissuade us from wading in to a new experience, potentially missing out on something amazing. Often, our fears are much greater than reality. At times, it's easy to go with the flow, but others, obstacles have us changing course until we can get back on track. There's always the potential of things not going as planned, nevertheless if we learn to bounce back from things that obstruct our path, we can continue to enjoy the beauty in our lives.

As it turns out, nothing I feared came to fruition. I absolutely loved it and look forward to doing it again the next time the opportunity arises.