Painting a fence

5 km crossing

What does painting a fence have to do with kayaking? Plenty. Especially crossings.

Painting a fence is a repetitive, a time consuming, tedious process. One board at a time ... edges then the face. Looking down the length of the fence I wonder when I'll reach the last board.

I found open water crossings are a bit like that at first. If the focus is on getting to the other side the focus becomes getting there. Its no longer about the paddle strokes. Its always a question, am I getting closer?

No end in sight

In a foggy crossing however the destination is out of sight. Then it becomes a process of just paddling in the moment and trust the compass. When the land at destination looms out of the fog its a surprise because there no fixation on a specific target.

The point is, just paint (paddle) and keep painting (paddling) and the destination will be reached. Its about the journey, not the destination ... and isn't that what life is all about?