Selection from Eddies for Outdoorsmen 

    Eddies

     I am somewhat of a white-water enthusiast.  Although I prefer to stay away from the more dangerous water, I do enjoy working with the river currents to maneuver my boat around obstacles.  As we white-water boaters navigate a river, we look for eddies.  Down river from a rock or other obstacle there will be an eddy where the water is swirling and running upstream.  The boater can drive his boat into a suitable eddy and with the help of the currents he can quickly turn the boat around and stop, facing upstream.  Here in the eddy the boater can rest and relax while the water rushes by on all sides.  Here he can pause and enjoy the beauty of the river.  Here he can stand by while fellow boaters test their skills in the rapids.  From here he can study the river and plan his next maneuvers.

     On one canoe trip I recall coming upon a pair of canoeists standing knee deep in rushing water, struggling desperately with a swamped canoe.  About ten yards downstream from them was a small eddy from a submerged rock.  I spun my canoe into the eddy and stopped.  The eddy was so small it was virtually hidden by my sixteen-foot boat, but it was strong enough to do the job.  It must have looked as though some mystical power was holding my boat in position against the current.  As the men in front of me struggled to pull their boat from the raging current, I sat quietly in my canoe, using the handle end of my paddle as a hook to retrieve their gear as it floated by.  One of the pair looked at me in amazement and exclaimed, “How in the world are you doing that?”

     Eddy turns are a skill that every white-water enthusiast should master,  not only for the sake of safety,  but in order to enjoy the river to its fullest.  On the river of life we also need to find the eddies.  All of us need to find some quiet time when we can rest and relax as the world rushes by on all sides.  We need time to observe our situation, reflect on the past and plan for the future.  Where can we find these eddies?  Naturally, vacations can be a time of rest and relaxation.  But we also need to stop in the smaller, more frequent eddies.  A supervisor I once worked for had a forty-five minute commute to and from work each day.  He said he liked having that time alone to reflect on the day’s events and plan for the next day. Things like jogging or walking the dog can provide us with eddies.  Many religious people set aside a time each day for meditation and prayer.  Making good use of the eddies on the river of life will help us cope with life’s difficulties, maintain our sanity and enjoy life to the fullest.  Are you finding enough eddies along your way?