08.22.09
Row Your Boat
I think it was Denis Waitley who I saw on a PBS special. He was talking about how a boat’s wake gives the captain no useful information. It represents something that has passed. We can look at it, but it doesn’t help us to steer. And more importantly for our humor-development, it does nothing to create awareness.
He used the song, “Row Your Boat,” to illustrate a better way to live.
1. “Row, row, row,” means that we need to take some action. Be proactive.
2. “Your boat,” not someone else’s. When you are sitting in your own boat, that is your only focus. You can’t easily reach over and guide someone else’s boat.
3. “Gently,” don’t be willful, forceful, or aggressive.
4. “Down the stream,” not upstream. Know what you are good at, go with your strengths. It should feel effortless.
5. “Merrily, merrily, merrily,” of course.
6. And when all those steps are taken, it will feel like, “Life is but a dream.”
Next time You want to snap yourself back into awareness, remember this song. You’ll be seeing the funny, comical, and fun things that were always there. Right in your own boat.
