1. EVERY STROKE
WE TAKE IS ONE LESS WE HAVE TO MAKE
Keep going! Even
against the most relentless wind or retrograde tide, somehow a canoe moves
forward. This mystery can only be explained by the fact that each pull
forward is a real movement and not a delusion.
2. THERE IS TO
BE NO ABUSE OF SELF OR OTHERS
Respect and trust
cannot exist in anger. It has to be thrown overboard, so the sea can cleanse
it. It has to be washed off the hands and cast into the air, so the stars
can take care of it. We always look back at the shallows we pulled through,
amazed at how powerful we thought those dangers were.
3. BE FLEXIBLE
The adaptable animal
survives. If you get tired, ship your paddle and rest. If you get hungry,
put in on the beach and eat a few oysters. If you can’t figure one way
to make it, do something new. When the wind confronts you, sometimes you’re
supposed to go the other way.
4. THE GIFT OF
EACH ENRICHES ALL
Every story is important.
The bow, the stern, the skipper, the power puller in the middle – everyone
is part of the movement. The elder sits in her cedar at the front, singing
her paddle song, praying for us all. The weary paddler resting is still
ballast. And there is always that time when the crew needs some joke, some
remark, some silence to keep going, and the least likely person provides.
5. WE ALL PULL
AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER
Nothing occurs in
isolation. When we aren’t in the family of a canoe, we are not ready for
whatever comes. The family can argue, mock, ignore each other at its worst,
but that family will never let itself sink. A canoe that lets itself sink
is certainly wiser never to leave the beach. When we know that we are not
alone in our actions, we also know we are lifted up by everyone else.
6. A HUNGRY PERSON
HAS NO CHARITY
Always nourish yourself.
The bitter person, thinking that sacrifice means self-destruction, shares
mostly anger. A paddler who doesn’t eat at the feasts doesn’t have enough
strength to paddle in the morning. Take that sandwich they throw at you
at 2.00 A.M.! The gift of who you are only enters the world when you are
strong enough to own it.
7. EXPERIENCES
ARE NOT ENHANCED THROUGH CRITICISM
Who we are, how
we are, what we do, why we continue, flourish with tolerance. The canoe
fellows who are grim go one way. The men and women who find the lightest
flow may sometimes go slow, but when they arrive they can still sing. And
they have gone all over the sea, into the air with the seagulls, under
the curve of the wave with the dolphin and down to the whispering shells,
under the continental shelf. Withdrawing the blame acknowledges how wonderful
a part if it all every one of us really is.
8. THE JOURNEY
IS WHAT WE ENJOY
Although the start
is exciting and the conclusion gratefully achieved, it is the long, steady
process we remember. Being part of the journey requires great preparation;
being done with a journey requires great awareness; being on the journey,
we are much more than ourselves. We are part of the movement of life. We
have a destination, and for once our will is pure, our goal is to go on.
9. A GOOD TEACHER
ALLOWS THE STUDENT TO LEARN
We can berate each
other, try to force each other to understand, or we can allow each paddler
to gain awareness through the ongoing journey. Nothing sustains us like
that sense of potential that we can deal with things. Each paddler learns
to deal with the person in front, the person behind, the water, the air,
the energy; the blessing of the eagle.
10. WHEN GIVEN ANY CHOICE AT ALL, BE A WORKER BEE – MAKE HONEY!