This year has been a true test in patience and grit. We are human after all. We are not infallible, we grow tired, succumb to critics, and overall show that we are just as vulnerable as any one else. Many look at these things as a weakness, but I believe our recognition of it is our strength. We are not too proud.
We have done a lot of good since we started, a lot, and I don’t want to use that as a pedestal to stand on and profess. I DO want to use that as a motivator to help overcome the hiccups along the way. To know that we have done good for others and maybe, just maybe, we were the difference in preventing some from walking away forever. I (we) believe in the beauty of what we do. It is my passion.
Why kayaking? It’s an analogy for life. It’s one big analogy for the fears and challenges we face in life. If faced honestly, then there are applicable lessons to be learned. It doesn’t have to be that. It is recreation. It’s about a healthy balance of physical push, mental fortitude and knowing what your limits are, but also learning how forgiving and unrelenting a situation can be, and that the difference sometimes can be limited to chance.
This year I ached a lot, questioning many times if what I have been doing is the right thing. Should I have picked an easier path, and where does this path lead me? I’m stretched thin most times, and I want to do it all. Everything. Burning the candle at both ends it seems.
We have recently been spending a great deal of time thinking what the holometaboly (good luck with that one) of H2o Dreams will be. What will sustain us in mind, body and spirit. I have been horrifically out of balance. There are some amazing personal accomplishments that have occurred with us, but also some serious neglect. How do we gain that balance. Have we ever had it? I’m fairly certain we want balance, it points to all the things that make us happy.
I have disconnected in so many ways by simply plugging in to the needs of the company and those we serve that I forget that I have those same needs. More importantly, the loved ones that I cherish so much and that make me happy need my attention as well. But when I walk away from the any work that the business needs, I feel guilty. Who’s going to make it grow if I’m not there?
I have done a beautiful job of discovering and writing what the mission of H2o Dreams is. Don’t worry, you’ll see it framed front and center on the new website coming soon.
I have done a terrible job of discovering and stating what my personal mission in life is and remembering it. I think everyone can stand to take a moment and reflect on what they most want out of life, it helps. Putting it out there can be even better, so there are no myths between you and those that share the spaces in your life.
Below is my personal mission, and I put this out there, more so to be held accountable by those around me.
I legitimately want to seek out happiness every single day. There are a few ways that I feel that I can achieve this.
First, I need to surround myself with people that I love and that love me. These people are my family, whether they are blood or not. They seek nothing more than to be recognized that they love me, and likewise, I seek nothing from them but the same. These are the people that give me clarity in my life, and sometimes complication 🙂 Those that are in your life out of anything other than love or respect either need to be working in that direction or may very well be the cancer that can be your undoing.
Second, I need to feel life in my body to feel happiness. The unsettling feeling of entropy creeping in when I have spent too much time behind a computer in an office will kill me faster than anything else. And I can feel it when I reside to just work a little bit longer. I feel it now, sitting here as I type. It sucks. I need to keep moving until the day that I die. And I need to make healthy choices to meet these needs.
Third, I need to feel challenged. Mentally more importantly than physically, although with physical challenges comes the mental tenacity to overcome the walls that we hit. This is really where teaching kayaking (among many things) and the business fall into that category. I get a thrill at figuring out the problems that our minds and bodies present to us when we throw challenges at them. It’s downright neat when you can have the same “A-ha” moment that a student has. Even better is being the student from time to time and remembering how hard it is to be just that.
Finally, I need to feel connected. Facebook doesn’t do it for me. I have a love/hate relationship with technology. It connects me to so many people, information, ideas, resources and entertainment it’s unreal. But it is all artificial. It ain’t got no soul. I need to connect to what is real, hence why I started kayaking to begin with.
I realize when I work hard behind the computer how disconnected I am even from myself. As that trend continues unhappiness begins to rear its ugly head. It can be a dark place, and I don’t like it there. It breaks the first part of my mission above, which is to surround and connect myself with positive people.
So there it is, my personal mission statement. Separate but not, from what my mission is with H2o Dreams. Without this one, there will never be the other one.
Thanks for taking the time to read.
