Reflections on a side hike.
Hello everyone!
I hope you had a relaxing long weekend with loved ones and are refreshed to finish this year with your unique and spectacular style.
As for me, after 24 stunning days on the Colorado River, we’re back home and getting used to things like email. And ceilings.
Spending so much time offline in a wild place lends itself to reflections on life, the universe, and everything. I hope you’ll excuse me while I share some of the things sticking in my brain and heart that I hope stay with me for a while. At least until the next river trip reminds me all over again*.
Presenting: Some things I learned in the Grand Canyon
Disconnecting for any amount of time is really great. Yeah, yeah, I know…but seriously.
When scouting a challenging situation -- let’s use a massive rapid as our metaphor, shall we? -- sometimes the route that looks scary is actually easier. Picking a smart, solid path into the big waves and going for it might be easier than fighting the current to get where it looks safer.
It’s okay to not always be doing, or helping, or working. It’s okay to just be.
This slowing down may require practice. For me, starting by just taking 5 minutes after a meal to sit and digest helped develop a habit of pausing, appreciating, and taking a moment to look around to be present.
Trusting ourselves and listening to gut feelings are handy skills for navigating most situations – challenging and otherwise.
We cannot expect others to read our minds. It helps to approach a disagreement with curiosity, not hostility.
I recognize the immense privileges I enjoy to be able to do a trip like this: the indigenous lands we were on, taking time off from work, my physical and mental abilities, and the equipment, knowledge, and skills to get ourselves through 280 miles of remote desert river corridor.
There are powerful forces in the world, like big rivers. Sometimes we don’t need to, or simply can’t, muscle through. A successful route may require thoughtful observation, looking for what’s not necessarily apparent on the surface or at first glance, then working with the forces at play. Get the right amount of momentum and angle to move through. Then make adjustments – not fighting – but pivots to square up to the big waves. Then, remember to plant your oars and enjoy the ride.
Scouting Lava Falls, the biggest rapid we rowed.
*If you’re thinking “Wait a minute Karina, weren’t you rafting the Grand Canyon, like, last year?” Close – our most recent trip was just a couple of years ago, and we spent a few weeks on river trips this past spring. This was our third trip rafting down the Grand, and we felt wildly appreciative to win a last-minute permit this year and had to say yes to the opportunity.
Once again, thank you from my heart and soul for your support, great senses of humor, brilliant minds, collaboration and what you're each doing to make the world a better place.
Cheers,
Watercolor in a side canyon.
Where in the Virtual World is ConverSketch?
This week I’m getting back in the studio working on video projects and strategic planning process design. For now, I’ll leave you with some photos from the trip.
Sunrise at a river camp.
The boat I rowed with Apollo’s temple in the background.
River selfie!