The Influence You Have

How do you see yourself? Do you see eyes that shine, unrelenting and strong? Eyes that see real beauty, the beauty of the earth that is raw and untouched, quiet and unsuspecting. Eyes which seem to unlock the secrets buried in this earth, this earth that is flowing forward with steady longing to keep on moving. Eyes that see the rivers, rivers that have a heart beat of their own, a pulse that beats with desire that is ravished with current. Eyes that notice the mountains, giant peaks overlooking it all, vast and fierce. Do you see yourself in these mountains? 

Do you see your magnitude? The magnificent influence that you can have with your time on this earth? Do you take the time to remember to find within yourself what it is that you know to be true. The insight and wisdom we have that has been shaped by opening our eyes and taking in what is happening around us. 

With our humanity comes moments of weakness. Moments of self doubt and moments of confidences lost. It is during these moments that you must remember that this time, this second, is your life. You have a choice, every minute you have a choice, to be exactly as you imagine yourself to be, or to close your eyes and look away. Look away from what is happening around you, choose to not see what needs to be changed.

Remembering that the moments lost are gone, but bear no influence going forward, help us to have the courage to change our course. We can change paths, change our minds any time we want, even when someone is telling us we can’t. It may take time, with trial, error, and heartbreak at tow, but our moments are waiting.

We have the ability to change the world! Take action when action is needed. Stand up and use our words for fights that need to be fought. Plant our feet in the soil, not moving back even when being pushed. Recognizing that there may be more than one truth to a world that is complex and overwhelming helps us to understand the influence that we actually have.

How do you see yourself?

The Day We Met..

Now, of course, this is the way that I remember the story, Curt’s version, I’m sure, is much different..

Our story started in the breathtaking Columbia River Gorge...

It was August 1st 2009, the Gorge was bustling with excitement, as it is most summer days, with people strolling on the sidewalks of Hood River or racing to get to their favorite summer activity. Kayaking, kite boarding, rafting, windsurfing, hiking.. the list is endless. I had a fun filled girls weekend planned full of camping under the stars and rafting under the endless blue skies. My girlfriends and I arrived at Wet Planet Whitewater for an afternoon rafting trip. This being my first trip, I tentatively took the wetsuit and booties offered to me by the handsome raft guides. As we giggled and pulled on the tight outfit, we all chatted about how excited we were and how cute the raft guides are. Then we arrived at the put in, knees shaking and eyes wide, the White Salmon River was roaring in the background.

 The clear blue water, rushing down the narrow gorge, was thrilling and a bit nerve racking. What an amazing way to spend a saturday. Then, we were introduced to our raft guide, Mr. Curt Joyce. There he was, looking as handsome as ever with his own gear, suns-out-guns-out tank top, and sunglasses that were hiding his baby blue eyes. Now, obviously Curt was used to this whitewater rafting thing so he was quick to instruct us to get into the boat. Me, being not quite so used to this whole new world, needed a little more reassurance. So.. I had to slow him down a bit. “Hold on, hold on.. I’m really nervous and I don’t know you, can you please take off your sunglasses so we can officially meet?”.. Needless to say, as his glasses came off, it was all over. Those baby blue eyes looking back with reassurance.. how could I not melt? 

The rest of the trip was amazing. How had I taken so long to find this amazing activity? Under the hot sun and crystal clear blue skies, on the wild and scenic White Salmon River, I fell in love with whitewater and was soon to fall in love with the one who introduced me to it. 

During that trip I sat in the back next to Curt. As we all talked and laughed and went over waterfalls, fate was taking its course. Looking back now, the pictures show a young, innocent girl who couldn’t take her eyes off of her young, handsome guide. 

After the trip, with a little encouragement from my girlfriends, Curt was given my phone number. The tip, well that is another story.. Nobody told us we were supposed to tip!! I have yet to live that down, phone number but no tip... oops. I suppose getting a wife out of that trip is the ultimate tip, right? 

And... that is the story of how we met, and as the story goes... they live happily ever after!