One Week In Heaven, Part II

My body rose early.  It was a morning my brain was done resting and it woke up my body, a little earlier than usual.  One of my last days to sleep in and enjoy the silence of Shuswap mornings as my REM dreams passed through my head, and I woke up.  7:30 am.  Far too early for a holiday morning.  But I was up and the kayak was calling.  My brain took my body up out of the bed, out the screen door, to the edge of the small cliff, where my eyes observed a quieter summer lake than I had ever seen.  "People won't be up for another 2 hours...perfect time for you, the phosphorescent orange kayak, lifejacket and paddle to head out onto the polished, glass surface of the water to meditate in the stillness of nature."

My body dressed and headed down to the beach and it was only me, a few birds, silent fish in the water, a few buzzing bugs.  No boats.  No people.  Little noise.  Out I went, splitting the surface of the water with the bottom of the kayak...trimming the liquid upon which I rested in two.

My brain did what it usually did when I my body is moving and breathing to the rhythm of my muscles.  It began processing.  The past year in a far off country...my experiences as an educator, its triumphs and disappointments...the inner contentment I finally felt as a single grown-up...my decisions to move, to start anew, or at least take a break from the place I had lived for so long...my brain hopped and skipped over these thoughts and on the lake I remained along with the assorted creatures.



As I reached the other side of the dark blue, my hands pulled out my camera and I distracted my brain with the attempt to capture this areas beauty within a small rectangle.

Always a challenge.

Although a good photo program helps.

Half way back to my side of the mountain, I reflected on the family's troubles that turned the land I was facing into a brown, desecrated heap.  The destruction of our beloved forest...the fighting over land...the selfishness of taking more than others...the lack of respect for the earth on which we dwell...a few years later, the green arms of nature has given itself a large hug across the land and eradicated some of the pain of the past.  "Look at the grandeur of that mountain...after all the issues, some continuing...we sure have a small piece...but I it is a glorious piece..."

I took a break and laid back in the kayak to stare at the clouds in the sky.  More thoughts.  Two kind men in a fishing boat joined me on the lake...their boat did a little lap around my kayak and their voices called to me assess my situation. "No problem here.  Just enjoying the splendor."  Vroooommm.....off they went.  They were not the only ones who had joined me.  The sounds of motors, voices, and the darker clouds gathering brought me back from my solitude and serenity.  Back to the land I adore and the family I love...