Today is the most beautiful sunny day you could ask for. After a rather sleepless night, Julia and I went for breakfast at the Chatanika lodge, in Alaska. We returned to our camping area and tried to return the favor of loud music but was probably unsuccessful. Julia laid down because she didn't get much sleep last night, so Patches, one of our water loving dogs, and I went on a journey.
These are the kind of journies that I love the most. We walked down the wild flower path next to the little pond and on around the corner through a wooded area with streams of golden sunlight piercing through the trees. There were lots of plants covering the floor of the wooded area. Our journey would take us pass a variety of flowers, some of which were not familiar to me, and then on until we reached a the river.
The sun glistened across the rippling water. Up ahead, it looked as if we would be able to cross over in a shallow area. Someone before us had the right idea; there was a fire pit and a chair right beside the river in a little private, secluded spot that they had made for themselves. My kind of heaven on earth. As Patches and I walked along the river bank, there were beautiful, dark, sapphire flowers that I didn't recall ever seeing before, but now that I think about it, they may be wild delphinium. We came to the place I wanted to cross the river and when I came down from the bank, I stepped deeply in to thick sand up to my knee, and for fear of getting stuck, just kept moving quickly to my destination. Now I was wet but it felt good because the heat of the day was already upon us and sweat was dripping from my face.
As I looked at the river, I recalled the passage in the 23rd Psalm that says, "He leads me beside still waters, He restoreth my soul" (Psalm 23:2-3). This was the day my soul had been longing for. The river had bends and turns with rippling water but there were also places in th eriver where the water pooled and became calm and still. That was what I was looking for; a place that was calm and the water seemed motionless, like glass. It made me think of childhood memories of my great grandmother, who would take me fishing with her and she would fish in places like this because trout like these places too. On hot summer days like today, trout stay in these cool places where the water is in the shade and pools which makes it a deeper spot where the water is cooler. This was a beautiful, quiet spot, quite a ways up stream from where I had come from but since I was already wet, Patches and I just crossed over in the shallow places.
Patches and her extreme love of the water kept me throwing sticks out so she could retrieve them. The birch trees were hanging out over the water in places making the perfect spot for a trout to hide. Just when I was thinking, this was a great place to take off all your clothes and go swimming, there was a canoe gently floating down the river until they hit the rippling water and then they had to work harder to paddle so they wouldn't go into the trees or the bank. Several other canoes followed and each one handled the ripples a little differently until they came into the smooth water. It reminds me of how life is, you can take things easier in the still waters but when life throws you a curve and you hit the ripples, you have to and paddle a bit harder so you can navigate the corners because you don't want to capsize and end up up side down.
While we sat there, I did see fish over in the smooth, quiet water that was in the shade. There was a gentle breeze blowing and the smell of fragrant flowers was noticeable in the air as we got ready to head back to the camping area. I feel bad for people who don't slow down enough to take time out for themselves and take advantage of enjoying nature like this. Hawaii isn't the only place you can go to enjoy sunny weather and sandy shores. Right here in Alaska, there are beautiful sandy shores by this river that sparkle in the sunlight like gold. This is gold country and a great place to pan for gold would be on this shore.
If water was to remain still for too long, it would become stagnant and worthless, much like people who sit still for too long. If you find your flow in life and keep moving, you will find marvelous treasures up around the bend. There are times in our lives that we have to work a little harder and paddle like crazy to stay upright, but that's what lets us enjoy the smooth, quiet places in life where it's shady and cool. When you come from the hard places, you sure appreciate life a whole lot more and have gratitude for the simple things in life.
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