Rivers of Love, dedicated to my own River God - Glimmerman

RIVERS OF LOVE. Life is like running a river – you know what you’ve just come through and some of it was bloody hectic, but you’ve come through unscathed. You may be drifting along slowly with the current for the moment, but you don’t know what’s around the next corner, but whatever it is, you know you can handle it. You can dance with the river, but you’ve got to know the steps. So now I feel I’ve learned the basic steps of life and now I must just dance with life. I know from my experience that the worst thing that can happen to you in this life is that you die & since I am no longer afraid of death itself, what on earth is there to be afraid of in life? Sometimes when on a river it is superb fun catching a wave and surfing in one spot for a while, or similarly with a hole. I learned early on that I preferred to not intentionally go into what I describe as munching holes, but if I inadvertently landed in one, I could keep my head above water, keep down the rising feelings of panic and eventually figure a way out of that particular predicament. The parallel in life, of course, is that we sometimes stay in one spot, be it a job, relationship, etc. for a time, but as with the river, no matter how much fun or fear that we’re experiencing at that time, the flow will eventually catch hold of us again and we continue on the journey of life.
If we grade the moments or periods in our lives in the same way as we grade rivers, i.e. 1 – 6, with grade 1 being straight forward and simple, grade 3 , pleasant and exciting or conversely moderately challenging with a dollop of fear, grade 5, a wild, hectic and infinitely challenging experience, but with blissful rewards and remarkable feelings of joy and completeness. Grade 6 – for the “gung-ho!” types, balls to the wall scenario. A serious, drastic action which has a 50% chance – or more, of leaving you hurt somehow. Perhaps a waterfall – like a big change in one’s life – like marriage, divorce, babies, death, serious illness, complete career change. Something where you really cannot be sure what is going to happen. If you have faith and believe in yourself and your abilities, then even these grade 6’s cannot shake your conviction that these big changes will only add to your reservoir of knowledge and experience. Grade 7 – Go to Heaven! Of course, if you’re willing to throw yourself off a 110m bridge – without a bungee rope attached to your ankles, or hurl yourself into grade 7 rapds, then that’s just plain suicide. If life looks like it’s hurling you some pretty nasty rapids, then abide by the mottos “when in doubt, get out” (and scout ahead) Now you can’t exactly get out of life, but try & distance yourself from the situation or problem & gain as much perspective on it as possible, there’s usually an easier path to follow through, a “chicken route” or otherwise there’s always the option to porterage around. I say always, because that’s been my experience, but if you’re forced to run the rapid because of circumstances, then take a deep breath and pray. A little blind faith can go a long way.