I took up paddleboarding last year, and it's quickly become one of my favorite activities to invest my time in.
I love my work and still count the seconds until I can hit the water.
The cocktail of serenity, peace, and challenge is extraordinary.
Every morning for the past 8+ years, I write what I'm grateful for, it's a practice I began in prison, and the return on investment has exceeded anything I could have ever imagined.
This morning I wrote how grateful I am for yesterday's paddleboard session and a question I like to ask occasionally in my gratitude practice bubbled to the surface.
"Why?"
Why do I enjoy paddle boarding so much?
As I wrote my answers, a picture began to form, and it's so much more than the activity itself.
I see paddleboarding as a metaphor for life.
1. Be present
I'm one with my body when I'm standing on the board, feeling every undulation of the water and wind, observing the ever-changing being Mother Nature is. If I'm not present, I start heading the wrong way.