The river still flows,
it rolls and tumbles on its dance. We pause; focus with intended
heart beats for what we are set to do. Our stroke rate is of little
concern, the edge and angle of our boat foolish to think about. All
that we can know that is fact, that is known to be the truth, is the
simple breath, our inhale, our exhale. For some it calms, that slow
sucking of air to the lungs, the pleasant push as we let it escape
our lungs. Physically it slows the heart, but it does more. The
breath, this single life point, does not distract – it does the
opposite, shedding the illusion of set isolated movements. The breath
like the flow is a constant. No stop, no start.
In the calm on these
simple moments, in the calm of the simple breath – that is all that
matters, all that will ever be of concern.
Our thoughts and mental
picture often, so often, become torn. Our sound track, lifes
memorable audio, plays on the worn grooves and broken stylus record
player. Our own memory is not that which we think. Tricks of the mind
happen daily. Are we ever truly centred, in the moment. We think of a
multitude of objects and distractions, driving we often forget how we
got from A to B. We take no time. Happy to be fooled by our our mind,
by the passing minutes. We flick from social media to TV, from the
text alert to the mp3 player. We dont even pause to eat. A snack at
the wheel, a drive thru too many.
The same is true of our
river experiences. We name and shame the river. We name and shame our
experience. Rapids like 'Graveyard', Tombstones', 'Devils punch bowl'
all force the river to be an impression before we even commit to a
line. Names always shame our experience. Stout, Full On and such
like. Just think, for a moment, how does this matter to you? When we
paddle, content to be engrossed with each stroke, with the technique,
with all these distractions we are tainting the language of our own
connection. We offend, thinking of this 'all'- but our own place on
the river. Deserves more. This a real standard for this impression,
we focus on that which is not of truth.
Our truth is to be
calm, to focus on the breath, to breathe alone. This will open the
door to further exploration. Without hinderance. Motor techniques,
the paddle strokes, the optical and physical effects of choosing how
to edge, speed, dynamic feel etc. All these will come to pass in the
moment of the breath. The in and out. We are with the river, we are
not to be distracted from it. The river is fluid, it rolls and falls,
tumbles and grows. It is both an infant and an adult all at once. In
its movement it is all – past, present and future. It is more than
we can give it credit for.
Many, too many, go to
this haven for less that it deserves. The river doesnt care about our
missed stroke, it doesnt laugh and ridicule us. We have no place to
be concerned with this. All that is of concern is the way we, each
moment, experience the flow.
Coaches and instruction
books cannot teach this. The personal moment – thats it. We need
look no further than our own self reliance. Human skill, faulted,
will cope. We can walk without thinking about the technique.
Paddling, with the right level of attendance - the right skill set,
can also do the same. We need to embrace our skill sets, but we need
to understand how they interconnect with our 'oneness' - our breath.
To learn skills, set in place without connection holistically is
futile. It will only ever alienate us from the reason we strive to be
in the flow.
ALL IMAGES A.BUTLER
