There are some of you that may be aware of my lacking skill in the area of swimming. For the greatest share of my life, I have feared drowning. In a previous post called "Help, I'm Drowning", I spoke a little bit about why I've had this fear. Many may call it silly, but one person's road bump is another person's mountain.
So I have begun a process to confront and get over this fear of the water. A previous kayak trip was a start and then this past weekend, my wife Laura convinced me to go with her and others to raft upon the Ocoee River in the lower, eastern corner of Tennessee. I will be quite honest to tell you that the fear began building inside while signing in at the outfitters location.
We chose to use one of the best outfitters in the area called Ocoee Outdoors. Our adventure was going to take place on the middle Ocoee River in class III and IV rapids. Oh joy I thought to myself, at least I'll die around family this fine day.
As we road the bus to the top of the course and I could see the rapids off the right side of the road, it just got more intense for me. This process of taking a raft down the Ocoee isn't a sign a form and jump in the river type of process. You go through a short safety lesson at the base camp, you get a semi-long bus ride about 13 miles up the river to the start. There is another lesson with the boat, oars and signals by your assigned guide. So there is plenty of time to think about what you have just gotten yourself into.
I was trying to think of every excuse in the book on the bus ride to the top. Could I get sick, could I trip and fall getting out of the bus; what would be my escape plan this time? So many times before, I was able to find a way out of having to deal with the fear. This time it just wasn't going to happen.
I won't bore you with the details of my trip down the river. The description of the rapids and ride are available at American Whitewater. But to say the least, the first rapid was a III+ called Grumpy which forces you right into the thick of things. From there on down, just over 20 more rapids to go.
And as you can see, I'm writing today so I survived my fear. I survived the trip down the Ocoee River. Have I overcome my fear? Not yet, but I'm working on it. Next step is to start those swimming lessons again that I quit taking nearly forty years ago.
Overcoming your fear of anything in life requires confronting it first. Admitting that it exists and understanding the impact it has on your life. It certainly has affected my life and those around me for many years. But now I can change my life, my attitude towards the fear, and so can you.
I'll let you know how the swimming lessons go once I start. Keep me honest folks if you don't hear that I'm taking them. And then send me a note about how you overcame your own fears. I'd like to put together a book about how we each have done so. Together we might just be able to help a few others overcome their own fears.
NOTE: Yes, that really is me in the picture (back left), my wife Laura (back right) encouraging the whole way. Up front taking all the water are my wifes good friends Sarah on the left and Rachel on the right. Our guide Valerie was fantastic; making sure we hit every rapid (thank you very much) and giving us a great tour of the five mile stretch.
No comments:
Post a Comment