Beckoning horizons!

Been a week or so since we've been on the water, so the image above is from a couple of weeks ago, a day paddle again to the north of Gabriola Island. Slipping silently along the shores of the southern Gulf Islands is always a treat - the sea life, the unique geological formations, the flora and fauna, the reflected waves, and the occasional bits of "treasure" wedged in amongst and behind the rocks provide a "feast" for the senses. Having said that, we love the empty horizon, the sense that you have left land behind and have embarked upon what most certainly is anticipated to be, an epic adventure. Ahhh, the stuff of which dreams are made.

The empty horizon promises an ocean-based version of John Gillespie Magee's having "slipped the surly bonds of earth and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings". The sea kayak's forward momentum shares many of the "flight" dynamics of an aircraft - the pitch, the yaw, and the roll - the angles of rotation in three dimensions that makes for a fun, and sometimes, challenging "ride".

The featureless ocean horizon imparts a sense of "invitation" into the unknown - to places and spaces that promise to satiate any thirst for adventure that resides within. All this, of course, is balanced by a small amount of trepidation, after all, the unknown is the unknown.

Perhaps that is why those who are devoted to these narrow craft are often dreamers. Those who paddle on the ocean, lakes, or rivers yearn to make new discoveries - about themselves and about the world. They rather like the idea of an encounter with the unexpected and are curious to learn how they will respond. They see a small "dash" of healthy anxiety as something akin to a pinch of salt - just the ingredient to sharpen the experience at hand.

Perhaps most satisfying, however, the empty horizon implies a sense of self-sufficiency - you've trained, prepared, and provisioned for this journey and you must now trust in your abilities, experience, and careful judgement, having left the comfort and secure embrace of the shoreline behind. Here now begins self-discovery - and as humbling an experience as it can sometimes be, it offers meaning, value, and texture to each moment of our being.

The empty horizon is, therefore, far from featureless, rather, it is full to brimming with the varied "topography" of a promised epic adventure! As is the case with so much in life, our view is determined by our perspective. Here's to healthy perspectives!

And may such distant horizons beckon,

D.