I’ve said this before, but it seems somehow worth repeating. We are not islands. No matter how much we’d like to think we are. We owe so many people for giving us the gifts of knowledge and encouragement along the way. Sometimes people take themselves too seriously. They believe their own hype. I can see how that can happen, how the trap can be laid. In my experience I always got that sort of “you’ll never amount to anything” kind of encouragement. As a teenager I was, like many others, into my music, my art, writing and all that other stuff that does not fit in the, “grow up, work hard, and die” ethos of the Midwest. Yet, these days I’m a bit thankful. It gave me reason to strive. Certainly when you grow up feeling like others have been less than helpful you begin to see yourself as an island. You find yourself becoming your own cheering section. You can start patting your own shoulder. Buying your own birthday cake as it were. Suddenly without realizing it you can become an egomaniac. Thing is, that’s never exactly how it went down. All that time you spent feeling like you had to prove your own worth, and fight for your bit of bread can cloud your memory. Everyone that did help, you can conclude, had some self serving motivation. So they don’t count. Suddenly there you are a statue to you’re own greatness. You become a walking, talking, god of your own self-accomplishment. You are a god of your own island. A very puny island indeed!

In the world of sea kayaking things have went well for me recently. Amazing really. And certainly I don’t want to discard the work I’ve done, or the hours and hours of “butt in boat” time I’ve put in. Certainly I tossed a lot of cash at symposiums, classes, boats, gear and really set my mind to a goal. But on the other hand, Nothing I can do has not been done before. 10,000 kayakers are better skilled than I will ever hope to be. Every door I pass through has been opened by someone. Every skill I’ve learned has been taught to me by others. We are products of our mentors. If things are going well, I know I owe it to others. They clothed me, fed me, encouraged and nurtured me along the way. Even as we plan our upcoming trip I know we are blessed with the kindness and generosity of others. Often with little regard for what they will get out of it. You can see their support any way you wish, but come on, are we really worth the investment they are putting in? To tell you the truth it’s a bit daunting to think about living up to their goodwill. An honor we have to work to deserve.

The other day one of my mentors pulled a tennis ball out of their hatch, smiled at me and said, “look, your idea!” Well, it was not my idea of course. It was Shawna & Leon’s idea. In fact most of my instructional method I stole from them or someone else. When it works, it’s to their credit not mine. I appreciated the compliment. But if I believed it, I would be a raging loony.