Curiosity...

Curiosity is one of the great secrets of happiness.

- Bryant McGill

Beyond the point - always another new discovery.

Wednesday was the first day of a new month - as for sea kayaking, that meant we were "one for one" for February. Batting "1000" as they say in baseball. We launched at the beach on Maple Bay, with the mid-winter sun warming our bare hands sufficiently that we didn't need to wear our gloves or pogies. Paddling out through the calm waters, I thought out loud, "This is a great start to the month, imagine if we could get 28 launches over the next 28 days?" Dreaming? Yes, just a little. But dreaming is good.

So is curiosity.

As we exit Maple Bay, a left turn at Arbutus Point takes us along the rugged and uninhabited coastline to Grave Point and into Stuart Channel. Although we've paddled this route dozens of times, there is always a feeling of adventure in the desire to discover what might be tucked behind the next point or headland. This ever-present curiosity could take the paddler from one rocky point to the next - all the way to the top of Vancouver Island! There wasn't quite time for that on this outing. But, perhaps, one day.

Curiosity is considered an emotion that represents a drive (insatiable at times!) to explore and to discover and to learn. Most paddlers are curious folk. We travel at a speed that permits careful observation. We are, for the most part, unobtrusive and nature carries on around us as we pass. We are subject to, and must respect, forces infinitely greater than ourselves - wind, waves, tides, and currents. Every interaction with these natural forces, therefore, leaves us wiser...and even more respectful. Occasionally, we must defer to larger mammals than ourselves, for example, sea lions with "attitude". Here, our curiosity is allowed to simmer (even cool!), as we give these intimidating pinnipeds wider berth!

Curiosity, in life, is a wonderful thing. It brings deep satisfaction. Indeed, it may well be "one of the great secrets of happiness". (Ever met a grumpy kayaker? Nope, me neither.)

Pax,

Duncan.