Go Beyond

On the last leg of the Texas Water Safari.

Thanks for indulging me as I write this third post on the Texas Water Safari, the world’s toughest canoe race. My son Jonathan and his teammate Steve started the race on Saturday morning at 9:00 AM and have stopped only briefly at the required checkpoints along the route. As of this writing they are on the Guadalupe River south of Victoria on the last leg of the race. They have one more required checkpoint at the Salt Water Barrier near Port Lavaca and then will head across an expanse of open water to the finish line at the coastal community of Seadrift. They are on schedule to finish the 260-mile race in less than the allotted one-hundred hour time limit. I am anxious to see Jonathan and to hear more about his grueling adventure. I am especially anxious to talk with him and my daughter Niki (logistics and checkpoint coordinator for Jonathan’s team) to ask them about how this experience challenged and stretched them.

Helen Keller said, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” I agree. I also believe that living adventurously is about more than about taking risks or seeking thrills. It goes much deeper than that. Living adventurously is about doing the things you are passionate about — and doing those things with all your heart. When you think about it, there is little that people do with all of their heart in our comfortable and predictable drive-through-convenience kind of lifestyles. True adventure engages the heart as much or more than any set of skills or muscles required to complete a task. And, adventure is not really adventure without the risk of failure. Whether its paddling down a river, climbing a mountain, or going back to school later in life, it’s the risk of failure or dealing with doubts about whether you can overcome obstacles that adds to adventure.

True adventure also requires a commitment to act and to take the steps to live the life of your dreams. William Lindsey, the man who ran the entire distance of the Great Wall, said, “My experience is that unless you make a commitment opportunities pass by. Life seemed full of people who talked about achievement yet never did anything more adventurous than watch television.” Lindsey is correct in his observation. No one ever becomes famous by announcing what they are going to do. You have to actually follow through and take the first step toward your destination or the first class toward your degree or the first paddle stroke down the river. Only those with the requisite courage to go beyond will reach the place where they are facing the last leg toward their respective finish line. Determine to live adventurously.