We’re all in the same boat. We have different paddles, and perhaps we find ourselves on other rivers. We all live in human bodies. These are the vehicles in which we move through our world. We are all made of flesh, blood, and bone, with brains, hearts, and lungs to power us. Our paddles — the tools we use to move through the world — vary, as do the bodies of water, the environments in which we find ourselves.

Some of us use our high IQs to get where we want to go. Some use our smiles, others use kindness, a gift with language, or athletic ability. We were born with some of these qualities, and others are skills we have learned. Considering this metaphor in light of your own life can be very enlightening. What tools are you using to get from point A to point B in your life? Chances are, you and the people you know have used many different tools in various combinations throughout your lives to get where you needed to go. Just as with oars or paddles, a balanced approach is best. If you rely too much on one thing, like beauty, to open doors, you fail to be well-rounded, and you may eventually lose your equilibrium. And if you lose that one quality, you have no paddle at all. This is an inspiration to develop multiple tools to navigate your world.

Some of us may be moving along paths like rushing rivers; others may be on a large, still lake. We have all felt, at one time or another, tossed about on a stormy ocean. We are never really alone through all this, even though it might seem that way. There is inspiration all around us in the form of other people making.