We step outside at night and look up to the stars.
We stand beneath waterfalls.
We sit in our kayaks and lose ourselves to the motion of the water.
These are the moments where we find ourselves.
We immerse ourselves in theses experience.
We find kindred spirits in the rhythms of Nature.
We remember all life is sacred.
We remember there is no difference between us and nature.
We remember we are nature.
We remember,
we...
are water.
All those rough bits n' pieces either fade away or smooth themselves together without conscious effort. The explanations that always seem so necessary to grasp for, all of a sudden, becomes... not so necessary.
We pick a run with group concesus. We may decide a change of pace is in order. The group coordinates, often with a leading figure. Everyone double (and triple) checks the right gear is in the right places. Those with the honored responsibility grab the drinks and snacks from the proper places. We make sure nobodies' deadline is going to be broken. The shuttles are run. And we're on the water.
This is where there's no longer any need to hold onto trying so hard. There are no moments better suited. The sensation of being rooted to the ground begins to dissolve into the rolling, flowing, endless motion of the water. Conversation and silence alike follow suit.
The miles, city and asphalt have all disappeared behind you, somewhere beyond the languishing skyline. Lunch was a quick beaching with our Jet-Boiled meals and a stretch of our legs. You've adjusted the comfort settings of the kayak to your form. Your arms are feeling the thousands of paddle strokes it's taken to get here. Everybody has their own points of curiosity marked on their maps. Some may already be marked off. There's more to come.
The dark horizon ahead is steadily crawling it's way across the open sky and a small, reclusive grouping of tents. You look down at your map again, mentally noting two locations likely ideal for tomorrow night's camp. Seated on your camp-chair or rock (or kayak or etc.) overlooking camp, you watch quietly as the stars fade into pristine visibility, climbing out of the blue-grey-blackness. You sit in a shared sensed of gratitude with those who have not yet drifted off to their beds. It has rained the last two nights.
Night continues' to loosen its hold on the heat of the day as waves of quiet stillness cascading all around you, folding over and encompassing you, blanketing the earth. A single, final smile of the day is gently pulled from you, inspired by the majesty of the entire universe splayed across the night sky, before you too drift toward your tent to crawl into a soft, dry, warm sleeping bag, joining the rest of your party in deep, comfortably exhausted sleep.