Part II: Navigating Your Own Kayak

@GlenM

• Where are you on the river right now - calm waters or rapids? I’m currently flowing through calm waters, feeling steady and reflective.
• What kind of “rocks” or challenges have been showing up lately? Lately, some “rocks” have been time management and balancing responsibilities.
• Checkin: Right now, my river feels like… Right now, my river feels peaceful but full of movement toward new goals.

@GlenM

1.    1.   Where are you on the river right now - calm waters or rapids?

It always feels like I am on rapid waters, everything is hectic all the time… But nowadays I have started to calm down myself at least at times when I can take out, or ’steal’ from my day to spend with myself, for myself… I am sure it will soon be seen and experienced in the change of my behaviour and attitude, and it comes from within.

2. What kind of “rocks” or challenges have been showing up lately?

My „rocks” as the symbols of challenges exactly come from the situation I just shared. So the change has already started in me, but my environment, the people around me want me to stay the same old myself. I am often struggling with this positive transformation and trying to avoid those who want to ruin it.

3. Think of a recent challenge. What might it be trying to teach you?

My recent challenges teach me that if something doesn’t work in one way, I don’t have to desperately stick to this one but instead take a deep breath and start to find another method. It results in not just a faster solution, but a much calmer feeling.

@GlenM Where are you on the river right now  calm waters or rapids?

Right now, my river feels closer to slow-moving but a bit unpredictable. Not full rapids, but definitely not still water— more like gentle bumps that remind me to stay awake and pay attention.

What kind of “rocks” or challenges have been showing up lately?

My biggest “rock” has been trying to manage too many responsibilities at once. It shows up as overwhelm and the feeling that I’m always slightly behind.

Check-in: Right now, my river feels like…

“…a cloudy day where the water is steady but there’s a chance of sudden rain.”

Think of a recent challenge. What might it be trying to teach you?

A recent challenge taught me that I don’t need to push through everything alone. It reminded me that accepting help isn’t weakness; it’s wisdom.

My rock → My teacher

My rock: Overcommitting
My teacher: Learning to honor my actual limits instead of the version of me I wish I could be all the time.

Mr. 8 moment:

I didn’t plan for a busy week turning into an even busier one, but it taught me that I can pause for five minutes and it still counts as rest.

What situation or feeling keeps “hooking” me emotionally?

The feeling of disappointing people.

Forgiveness ladder:

1. Feeling: worry that I’m letting others down
2. Earliest memory: being a kid and trying really hard to do things “right”
3. Compassion line: “You were trying your best then, and you’re trying your best now — and that’s enough.”

A time life leveled me up through struggle:

There was a period where things felt too heavy all at once, and I had to learn to set boundaries. That struggle opened up the perspective that saying “no” is actually saying “yes” to the things that matter.

What would it look like to trust the current a little more this week?

It would mean letting go of the need to control every outcome and doing what I can for today  not for the whole month.

Today I’m grateful for the current that carried me through the moments I thought I didn’t have the energy for, but somehow made it through anyway.

Part 2 Closing Reflections

One key insight:
The idea that each “rock” can be reframed as a “teacher.” It shifts the whole tone from frustration to curiosity, and it makes challenges feel a little less like failures and a little more like invitations to grow.

One rock I’m choosing to see as a teacher this week:
My tendency to rush.
It can teach me to slow down, breathe, and remember that meaningful things don’t require constant urgency.

@GlenM

question 1

both in calm  water and  rapids

Off line  i am in calm waters with my disability and life in general.

rapids when it comes to hard class i am in where I do paper on topic that get at all.

on cups i feel  like I in rapids but it starting to small pieces starting to calm down . Even since I got back from a force self care break  having a hard time finding my footing and always feel on edge but thing starting to go back to how  things were before the force self care break,

question 4

 i back to cups thing . It really  taught me how much cups mean to me. It really teaching me how to become a better listener and how to rebuilt your on cups after  a big mistake. 

Question 3

It feels like river will turn into calm waters soon.

part 2 i like liked how those questions really made me think and help me see what’s going  on in  new way.

@GlenM Honestly, after going through the slides and then reading the comments, I had to sit with the whole thing for a moment. Let it sink. Listen inward. So here is what finally rose to the surface (to stay in the picture): (1) I am in calm, steadily flowing waters but - such is life - there are always undercurrents or sudden cliffs appearing - sometimes even a sand bank. This was the case as a work project of mine got delayed by quite a bit. (2) So what I think this has definitely trying to teach me is patience (not sure if fully successful, though). (3) The Nr. 8 Moment was a health issue of a relative - all of a sudden, other worries that appeared big and important before, seemed minor in comparison. I didn't plan for this, certainly, but it taught me what is really important, and what is not. (4) For this, I had to take some time to choose. I finally settled on this: The feeling of not have done something correctly, in the optimal or best way - elementary school - It is ok to not get it perfect every single time; it is what makes us human. (5) I am not naturally extrovert or outgoing - but I have experienced that every single time I reach out, I either get really nice feedback or there is some learning to be gained. It is most astonishing. (6) Directly related to that, taking on some more chats, even though I am still getting used to the whole set up. So, yes, I am grateful for that learning curve - cruising along the current with a little more ease.

@GlenM

• Checkin: Right now, my river feels like…
  It is beautiful with the sun shining on the ripples that softly flow over the banks, the middle is fast and I can choose to dip in and out, steering from side to side finding my way through,
  
  
• Where are you on the river right now - calm waters or rapids?
  I echo the energy of the river, when I am full of energy I stand up and skiiiiiiiii with the wake!
  
  
• Fill this sentence: “Today I’m grateful for the current that carried me through ___.”
  I am grateful for the current that carried me through the waiting times when my daughter was in labour, the river kept flowing, there was no stopping it and the river just flowed on and on like time, towards the calmer water.

Thanks @GlenM 

@GlenM

1. Where are you on the river right now, calm waters or rapids?

I’m in relatively calm waters right now, but movement feels slow. Things are heavy beneath the surface. I’m still choosing to move forward, quietly processing, rebuilding strength, and working on my inner stability. I’m focusing on staying calm, studying, and rewiring my mind to stand up again and again, no matter how many times I fall.

2. What kind of “rocks” or challenges have been showing up lately?

My rocks have been internal and complicated. Fear has been showing up, fear of moving forward, fear of starting over, fear of failing, and fear of being judged. I feel stuck where I am because I’m exhausted from restarting and worried about embarrassment. Lately, self-doubt and lack of confidence have been the heaviest obstacles on my path.

3. Think of a recent challenge. What might it be trying to teach you?

This challenge is teaching me that being alone doesn’t necessarily mean I need someone beside me, it means I’ve been disconnected from myself. The loneliness is pointing to parts of me that need attention, not avoidance. I’m learning that safety and strength must first come from within. I need to become my own safe place instead of depending on others to make me feel secure. Being alone doesn’t always mean I’m lonely; sometimes it’s my aching self trying to reach me. This experience is teaching me to listen, to be gentle, and to stand up for myself because the real mistake wasn’t being alone, it was not being there for myself when I needed me most.

@GlenM I can't view the sides. And where is the closed group? 

As for answering the questions for part 2-

The rock I will use as a teacher this week is grief. I'm not quite sure yet what I can learn from it though...

@GlenM

The river analogy is so effective for me because:

We all find ourselves at different stages in life, some of us are in shallow waters, with small worries and niggles. Some of us are threading water, getting by with the help of arm bands, these arm bands can be family, friends, community, while some of us are in deep waters and we feel like we are drowning, clinging onto the edge, in search of dry land. All of us with varying talents , some able to swim with life, while others are sinking.

It's about the ebb and flow of life.

Not fighting against the current.

Staying in calmer waters.

Accepting that life bouy,

when it comes your way! 💖

I'm putting a river in each section.