Adventurous Life Newsletter - Inviting You to Find Inspiration in Odd Corners (July 2003)

When the whitewater kayaking season started this year, I wasn't ready for it: shoulder sprain, lower back injury, head still in ice climbing. For the first time in my kayaking career, I failed to feel joy at the thought of a river run.

To top it all off, I have a split in my ability levels -- I'm an aggressive and experienced steep creek boater, but when it comes to play boating (making the kayak do acrobatic moves like cartwheels and loops on various river features)...well, let's just say I have a lot to learn.

Thing is, I really want to learn to playboat. Being well-rounded is something I admire, and hey, let's face it, it's fun. But up against the challenge of learning to do new moves that make me feel foolish and incompetent, I find myself worrying about "being good." I begin to avoid playboating situations because it means seeing how much "better" everyone else is. And what good does that do me?

My challenge? Letting go of my ego. Remembering what it feels like to play with the water. Luckily, I had a chance early in the season to kayak with one of the folks who introduced me to the sport -- someone I hadn't seen in a while, but who came along at exactly the right moment to remind me of what's important. A veteran boater (one of the best in the region) and all-around good person, he tries new moves, messes up, laughs at himself, and tries again. After 26 years on the water, he still has fun every time he's out.

His joy reminded me of my own. His laughter recalled me to myself and my love of the river. From that moment, my kayaking season has taken on a whole new character. I find my own challenges each day I'm paddling, and not only has playboating become an excuse to learn more about this chaotic element and ways I can interact with (and occasionally get humbled by) it, I've also taken up whitewater canoeing -- a whole new kettle of fish -- and was thrilled to almost complete a roll the other day (almost!).

What in your life has become a yardstick rather than the pleasure it once was? If you're facing this same challenge in some part of your life, this month look for a way back to your beginner's mind, where all things are possible, and the experience itself is worth having.

Starting Small -- but with a Mighty Big Heart

Have you ever felt small in relation to the world's problems? Imagine being seven years old and wanting to do something for kids with cancer.

Well, that's exactly what Taylor Crabtree -- now 11, and the owner of TayBear Company -- wanted to do. She started with a goal of selling enough hand-painted hairclips to buy 500 teddy bears as huggable gifts for kids who were hospitalized with cancer and chronic blood diseases.

To her surprise (and that of her mother), demand soon overwhelmed her ability to keep hairclips in stock, and she recruited friends as volunteers to help make more. Soon strangers -- hundreds of them -- were asking to join her efforts. She learned to do bookkeeping, and even went to "grown-up" companies for donations and support, and got it (although she heard plenty of "no's" in the process!).

Since starting out, dedicated TayBear Company volunteers have sold enough hairclips to donate over 16,832 TayBears to hospitals all over the United States (and a few in Canada). And talk about money management -- Taylor keeps her non-profit's expenses to just 3%. That's right, 97% of profits go directly to buying teddy bears for kids with cancer.

Not bad for someone who's not even out of middle school. Now, what good thing have you been wanting to do for the world?

Visit www.taybearhugs.org or go directly to the order form and donation page.

Travel Corner: Intro to Bargaining

This article is the third in a three-part Travel 101 series entitled "Tricks to Understanding (and Enjoying!) the Money Side of Travel."

Bargaining. This is an arena that often intimidates western travelers. The only useful comparison in our economies seems to be car shopping, and that's an experience wrought (for most people) with a certain amount of anxiety and distrust. Wipe this comparison from your mind -- it's not like that elsewhere!

For the complete guide to bargaining (including those elusive unspoken rules you always suspected were out there somewhere), read the full article on my web site.