My son and I have taken a few trips down the Musconetcong River in an inflated two man boat. The first two trips were successes. On the third trip, I completely misjudged the river conditions. We ended up popping the boat, walking much of the trip (in and out of the water) and my cellphone ended up getting waterlogged. The trip was not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. As usual we were dropped off at the river several miles from our house and then left to make our way home. The low water levels did not become a true problem until we were about a half hour into the trip. At that point, it is too late to turn back. Luke and I had anticipated a few bumps along the way but we got a full on shipwreck and I’m so glad that we did.
Neither of us enjoyed the trek that we made down the river. Half of the time we were in the boat, half we were out and eventually when it popped we had to walk the river without an exit to the road for a while. Regardless of our poor circumstances, we kept chatting and dealing with small problems as they arose. It was not the trip that we wanted but that didn’t mean that we had to hate it. This was not taking lemons and making lemonade. This was slogging and knowing it was slogging but moving forward anyway and not lamenting it. It was something that had to be dealt with.
All too often life hands us poor circumstances. In the natural world, lamenting your circumstances gets you nothing. It is only in our overly cushy society that complaints do much to improve a situation. Generally speaking, the world is not interested in your comfort, preferences or desires. It gives you circumstances and you can choose to whine or choose to move forward. A shipwreck is not particularly a death sentence or even a negative occurrence, unless you decide that it is.
Bon voyage!
Pete
Huryk Unlimited 