Kayaking

Three Gratitudes:
-Pirate, my cat
-A nice, comfortable, clean, new-feeling, affordable apartment
-That I found time to run this morning, and came to work feeling fresh and wide awake


Positive experience:
Yesterday I visited my friends Amanda and Chris, who live on the Chattahoochee out in Marietta. I went kayaking while they canoed together on the river. Before we left we dropped Chris's car off a couple miles downstream, then put in right behind their apartment.


I used a very short kayak designed for white water rafting and immediately felt out of my comfort zone. It was very tippy, and inclined to turn backwards. Compared to the Savannah where I usually kayak, the water felt very fast moving. While the rapids were tame, they felt very intense and I constantly felt like I was about to tip.


At the time I was very tense, breathing hard, heartbeat going, and I was hot in my helmet under the sun. But it was also a stunning day and the water was cool and the air smelled sweet and riding the rapids was a rush. I made it down without drowning, and when I got out at the other end I had a wonderful feeling of satisfaction that lasted the rest of the night. I was trying to remember when I had done something that made me that uncomfortable...it's been awhile. The experience reminded me that it's not always wise to avoid doing something that makes you nervous. Sometimes the payoff of getting out of your comfort zone far outweighs avoiding the situation and not facing you anxiety. It was a great day.