River rafting in Kundalika river - part 2

Do what you like.

If it earns you money, call it a profession.
If it doesn’t, call it a hobby.
 
In any case, do what you like.

You might be wondering “But this is supposed to be a blog on river rafting, right ?“

Right, but that’s what the river had to offer as an insight.  If you haven’t read the part 1, please visit .. http://www.thefortsofsahyadri.blogspot.in/2014/05/river-rafting-in-kundalika-river-part-1.html

The rafting was ON. And I was thoroughly enjoying it. But something was not right ...

There are three key positions in a raft. The back position, always occupied by the guide. And the two front positions (left and right). These should always be occupied by the strongest people in the raft. And more importantly they need to be mentally there, liking every moment of the journey (I guess the latter part is more important than physical strength). The people at the front are supposed to be in synchronization while paddling. That is the key to successfully paddle any boat.

I was in the front left position. Within 15 minutes it was clear to me that the person in the right front position was not here for rafting.

Most likely he was here as his partner wanted to do rafting. Matter of obligation ? From his body language, he had no liking towards river rafting or for that matter any adventure sport. He was neither interested in synchronization nor in paddling. And that was impacting the movement of our raft.

And at that moment this thought struck me HARD.

DO WHAT YOU LIKE. 

The guide definitely was liking river rafting, and getting paid as well. That's profession.

I was liking it, but not getting paid :-). That's hobby.

This guy on my right side wasn't liking it. What is that called ? Boredom ?

Am I doing what I like... Time to reflect.

Not just for me. For YOU as well. 

Are you there, my dear reader?

And it is not just about what you are  doing right now. Its about what you are doing about your life.

Are you doing what you LIKE?

Are you one of those who like to develop software but end up managing the software development ? I mean just as an example :-)

To be frank, not just as an example. I had gone through this, exactly this, for a brief 18 months period. By choice. And learnt the lesson HARD way.

In any case everyone is different in terms of what they LIKE to do. But probably it does not matter. What matters is, are you doing what you like.

It's a choice between happiness and boredom. Have you made your choice ?
 

Back to rafting ...

The flow of the river was powerful enough to get my wondering thoughts back to actual rafting. Next rapid was arriving. Forward, back & relax were the

keywords we had to hear carefully and act on ASAP. River rafting involves physical exercise and is an engrossing activity. Since we began the journey, river was everything. Nothing else mattered. We had to keep an eye on 'what next'. Each rapid was brining new experiences. And the best one came suddenly.

At one point we reached a place where the river did not have a rapid for a very long distance. Time to jump into the river and start swimming. I was waiting for that signal from the guide. And when that signal came, I was in the river in no time. Floating on the back, eyes closed, the river was moving with decent speed. Those 15 minutes were one of the best moments in my life, EVER.

Eyes closed. The body floating and flowing through the river.  Strong belief that the river knows where to take the body. That's the gateway to your inner self. Doors opened. Suddenly there is intensely bright light everywhere. Nothing else. The state continues. There is no sense of time. Just light. Nothing else. This could be an ideal state, state of deep sleep & loss of individual existence. Perhaps that's the state of ... use any keyword of your choice (peace, nirvana ....) and feel it.  

The problem with such experience is that everything else becomes irrelevant.

Some sequence of events (probably the co-passengers shouting at each other?) and I am back to sane state. Time to get back into the raft. Rafting continued for some time. The last patch was physically tiring. The river was moving slowly as the Thokalwadi dam was approaching. The river had become deeper. The end point was now visible. 10 more minutes of paddling and we were on the river bank. It was time to off-board the raft, lift it and take it 20 feet up to the parking point. Lifting the raft and carrying it up was a tough task. Somehow was managed by the team.

Time to say good bye to the river, the raft, the other folks and the guide.

The tumtum (Read part 1) was waiting for us. The return journey to the car parking point was through typical Kokan road. By the time we reached the car, it was 12 noon. We started our return journey. We took the lunch break at Kokan Gold Valley (at the base of  Tamhini Ghat), a well maintained place. They offered a 3 course buffet lunch. Good food at an affordable rate.

Post lunch we started back towards Pune and reached by 4:30 PM. The day had been memorable one for all four of us.


For me, life was not going to be the same. Something had died and made way to something new.   The key message was 'do what you like'. But there was more. The more I think the more it becomes clear.

Live Young.
Live Free.
Risk more.
Learn more.
Be strong.
Show courage.
Excel.
Lead.
Laugh.
Simplify.
Exude passion.
Shatter your limits.
Transcend your fears.
Inspire.
Dream big.
Act now.
Don’t stop.
... and that's the full STOP for this blog ;-).
Can't test your patience more :-)