The sun sets on another day…
The sunset came and went as I was dozing. A long day, a long week, a long month. In the end, I saw the aftermath, and the twilight shone bright in the evening sky.
There are so many jokes out there about paddling faster because we hear banjos, and they are all based on a fun movie called Deliverance. Now I say fun in an interesting manner as the movie was not as fun as it was suspenseful and over the top and painted a poor picture of people in the country. I later thought it similar to a movie called “Southern Comfort” that had equally disastrous results in the country. All of that is unimportant information.
I thought a lot today about paddling through life. Let’s say we are all in a canoe. We are trying to get somewhere and we need to get there with our paddles. (See, paddle faster?) To do so we need perseverance and some other things. What you may ask? (Or you may have fallen asleep or moved on thinking this is oh so lame.) So what do you need?
You need Communication for one. You can’t get to the same place unless you know where that place is. A lot of people make assumptions that we know where we are going, but it is only true if we tell each other where to go. (Sometimes quite literally)
We also need Cooperation. People cannot move at all without cooperation. Today I stopped at a Taco Bell for, well, a Taco. When I did A man was trying to start his car and put it in neutral and coaster back in the road. He and another man tried to push the Escalade, and it did not move. It didn’t move because one was pushing then the other. I ran to the back of the car and said “Push” and one other joined and we put it back in the parking place. If others had not joined and we did not cooperate traffic would have been blocked up all day. (Well it is Taco bell) Cooperation works. In deliverance one person said what to do but the group worked together to escape, and guess what, that works. (Working together)
Compassion seems unimportant until you get slapped down a flight of stairs, or left in the open ocean with everyone else taking off with your canoe. Communication sometimes isn’t enough, sometimes we need to feel, and in doing so, understand people around us a little better. For some it is hard, for others it just makes sense, but always it is a matter of feeling and responding to those feelings.
Hmm, sounds good.
So as the sun sets on another day. The banjos are getting closer. If you want to get clear you have to get your canoe out. Talk to the people you are with, paddle together, make it work, and understand the feelings of those around you. Communication, Cooperation, and Compassion can make it work, and of course a little arm and upper body strength. Now get to paddling and have a happy day, no matter what.
Sleep sweet, love life, and keep on paddling…