(first posted on July 10, 2011)
It was a hot Saturday in July when my friend and I decided to go down to the Potomac river and rent a canoe. Neither of us had much canoeing experience but, feeling adventurous, we went for it. Pretty soon we were getting our canoe, paddles, life vests and off we were.
Getting out of the docks was the first challenge. It seemed we could only go in circles. After a few tries we were finally able to zigzag our way out into the beautiful scenery. Oh, how beautiful it was! Seeing the sky and the trees reflected on the water seemed otherworldly to me. It was so tranquil and peaceful that I could feel all of the week’s stress, and my sweat, just evaporate from my skin. It was very hot. So, we decided to take off our life vests.
We continued to zigzag our way down the river as it got wider. We stopped to enjoy the scenery but for some unknown reason we decided to switch places. We both stood up in the canoe and began to switch. This is where it all gets blurry in mind – you can probably guess what happened next. We tipped over our canoe and fell in.
As my ankle hit the side of the canoe, I clearly remembered that my friend did not know how to swim. I also thought about my lack of swimming skills. Due to a couple of drowning scares as a child, I panic in deep water. These were my thoughts as the water fully engulfed me, filling my ears and heart with dread. As I continued to descend my thoughts turned to the real possibility that one of us, maybe both of us, could drown.
We came up at the same time. I saw my friend’s eyes filled with terror as he grasped for the capsized canoe. I have never spoken so firmly or assuredly to anyone as I did that day. I said, “Listen to me, we are NOT going to die today. Do you hear me?” I repeated this until he nodded and said, “Okay.” We had not seen another canoe for a while and there was no one around where we capsized. The peaceful solitude that felt so heavenly just a few minutes before had turned threatening and ominous. We had to consider our options. I looked around and the first thing I noticed was that our things – our shoes, wallets, vests, oars – were swiftly floating down river. While he held on to the canoe, I swam around and gathered everything and put it on top of the canoe. We had fallen in at a very wide part of the river so either shore seemed impossible to reach. Even if I could swim to shore to get help, I knew I could not leave him. I tried to put the life vest on him but he was so scared that he was unable to release his grip from the canoe. I tied the vests around him as best I could. By now he was calm enough to ask me to teach him how to swim. “Well,” I said, “you have to put your legs behind you and kick.” We came up with a plan to try to hang on to the canoe and kick our way to shore. Just as we were to implement this plan, out of nowhere, appeared another canoe. “Do you guys need help?,” they said – like angels sent from heaven! The two young ladies helped my friend onto their canoe. I swam behind them while tugging our canoe and our belongings.
I learned some very important lessons from this experience – never take off your life vest and never stand up in a canoe – but I also learned about what to do when the unexpected happens.
- You are not going to die. We tend to immediately think of the worst possible scenario. Fear can paralyze us. But, when the unexpected happens, we need to think clearly and take action. As soon as you feel overwhelmed by the situation, take a breath and establish firmly with yourself – and others – that you are not going to die and the worst possible scenario is NOT going to happen. Once you eliminate that possibility, you can focus on the actual options to get through it. You will discover abilities in yourself that you never knew you had.
- See what you can do immediately. Doing something about the situation, even if it’s small, gives you some control, it calms you, and gets you time to think about the options. The calmer and more relaxed you are, the better decisions you will make.
- Take action. Once you have narrowed down your options, select the best one and implement it. Move forward with the desired outcome in your sights. Commit to that vision and if the first option doesn’t work, go to the next one. Never lose sight of your desired outcome.
- Ask for help. Sometimes we feel that we have to handle everything ourselves because we are responsible, it’s our job, or nobody else can understand the situation as well as we can. Being the sole swimmer in an unexpected situation will be exhausting. Ask for help from those around you. Pray and ask God for help. When you find yourself going up river without a paddle, the rock of your faith will be there to pull you through.
Today, we can be sure of one thing: that all the best plans and even the best strategies cannot prepare us for the unexpected. Thankfully, not all situations are life or death, but they can sure feel like it. Like me and my friend, you will be called to your use your will, your wits, and your best swim to get yourself out from underwater and back to shore.
Much Love
Yaya Speaks 