There are lots of things to enjoy about rivers and streams. You can read the two previous posts on rivers called River Through It and Raging River.

The phrase is to tame the river. There is only one way to do that. It is through experiencing all that the river has to offer, both the best and the worst areas. This means the only way to learn about a river is to live near one. It is also beneficial to learning water safety. Our parents took us down to the river for swimming, otherwise we were not to go in the water.

Lesson 1: Sitting as if in a chair with our heals dug into the rocks along the bottom, we could hold our position with a gentle flow of water massaging our bodies.

Lesson 2: Pick our feet up from the bottom and the floating race was on with the first one reaching the biggest tree taking the prize. There were parts which were better and parts that were to be avoided.

Lesson 3: Walking back along the shore was far less work then fighting our way against the current. In other words, floating was better than swimming. When we went canoeing, lesson 2 served us well to get to a spot where we could get right the tipped canoe.

While I am not a big proponent of analogies, I will break from my resistance and say learning any job is like taming a river. Everyone wants to operate in a job where only lesson 1 is needed. Lay back and cruise through the work relaxed and comfortable. Then your feet slip from the bottom and you find yourself floating down into uncharted waters. When it gets too rough or scary, lesson 3 can be the saving decision. Get to the side or step out so you can see where you need to go. The fast current in the middle is not the place to stay. And remember, you can’t tame the river without experiencing both the best and the worst areas.

Hope you have a Happy Friday.