Appreciating the headwaters of the Mississippi River with Dad 

I would love to live like a river flows,
carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.
~ John O’Donohue

The river serves as a powerful metaphor for life.
Relentlessly moving, forever changing.
It offers both challenges and comforts.
Some are expected and others are surprises.

In learning to swim in the river, we come into harmony with it.
We learn to traverse its eddies, floods, log jams, and whitewater.
We witness and contemplate its mysterious morning mists.

On the river, at times we row together as a team.
At other times we paddle alone.
We look for what’s around the bend.
We fish for nourishment.
We quench our thirst.
We swim for the fun of it.
We rest on the banks.
We float.

We long to flow with the river.
To give our gifts.
To sparkle like sunlight on water.
To wear away rocky obstacles.
To change the course and create new pathways.
We know that, as with river deltas,
we reshape our world one day at a time.

And we also know that all rivers eventually become one with the ocean.