Otis Redding -
(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay springs to mind as I watch the Fraser
River flow to the sea. I walk almost every day and I have been building up my
stamina to reach 7K a day. I was half way along the walk and I found my stamina
was not what it was, and I had to sit. So, I choose spot on the dock along the
River, where I am watching the River as I rest.
I watch the currents swirling and the flotsam drift by my spot. For
those who are not aware the Fraser River is a large River on the West Coast of
BC and where I walk it is also a tidal river. At this time of the year is
running high and fast due to the snow melt and the rains.
The logs, branches and other debris are floating by at, what I thought
was a fast pace. As I watched the river, I noticed that the debris appeared to
be slowing down and then it stopped. The branches and the flotsam, slowed to a
crawl and the just started to bob without moving, as if they were treading water.
Slowly, almost at a snail’s pace, the debris I was watching started to move
back up the river. Usually in the fall, winter or earl spring, I have noticed
the tide turning and found it entertaining to watch the river currents first
moving toward the ocean and then moving back to the mountains as the river and
the tide fought for control.
Because the river is so high and running so fast, I had not expected the
tide to turn the river, but it did. I knew that within an hour the tide would turn,
and the debris and the river would continue their journey to the ocean.
As I was watching I heard a power boar approaching, going down river,
and I noticed that the boater gradually increased the acceleration of the boat
as the tide shifted. The boater may not have realized what why he/she was slowing
down but they compensated for the extra force against the boat to maintain the
same speed.
As we go through life, some of us are the flotsam and allow the currents
to take us where they want us to go, we drift along until sometimes we get caught between powerful forces that we are
not aware and we stop, and drift around until we are pulled ahead without
knowing what happened or why. Some of us are the boater who knows where they
are going and have the energy to get there fast and when we are faced with currents
that slow us down, we just increase the amount of energy we have to expend to
get to where we want to go.
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