It’s seems like only moments ago I was writing a column on the early summer and late spring months that give us locals a last chance at significant peace, quiet and contemplation before the much needed influx of tourists, day-trippers and wind dancers. And then all of a sudden summer has blown by and the clouds have begun to roll in every morning. There’s already a cool fall chill to the air, and we’ve just now reached September.
It was in that column just a few months ago that I wrote about taking the time to learn something new or to do something all over again that you haven’t done in a while. I myself chose kiteboarding and fly fishing this summer. My fiancé and I took to kite surfing like a fish to water, and fly fishing is so perfectly the opposite in terms of the sustained rush and the adrenaline fix (though a fish on that fly will get the blood flowing) that I found myself in perfect balance this summer. I made headway with both, and I can’t wait to pick up where I left off with kiteboarding as the spring and early summer months roll back in next year. Fly fishing will continue as the fall months push through, and with both sports there are significant steps I can take to practice and perfect as much as possible before the prime season returns. Part of me can’t wait, but there’s the other part of me that embraces each season no matter the rain, snow or wind, and that part is already excited for what the fall will bring.
I’ve already waxed poetic in past columns about the stunning beauty and sheer awe that a Columbia Gorge fall can inspire in us. There will be long scenic drives through the valleys, hills, mountains and high prairie, all of which sing the season in the prettiest of notes. Oh, and there will be cider and ale, hot chocolate, apples, pears and pies. It’s a great season to be a resident of any Pacific Northwest town as produce ripens on the branches and wine grapes ready for picking. There’s so much beauty and contemplation in a typical fall day, but somehow this year I want more.
Maybe I just caught the adventurous spirit. Maybe I’m just trying to hold on to the premier outdoor season until it has all but disappeared. Either way, I’m getting back out there. As kiteboarding and fly fishing worked in perfect balance to satiate my adventurous and Zen spirit, I hope the fall season itself provides the relaxation, calm and solitude I’ve been subconsciously and quietly yearning for. And as its counter point? What balance is to be struck to this refreshing and passive season? Perhaps it’s late fall skiing, which I haven’t done since I was in grade school. Maybe until then I’ll take up mountain biking. I had a rough go when I was 13 or 14 and I never tried the trails again. It looks exhilarating, and I’m a complete nut for a sport when it means I can buy and acquire more gear.
A small voice is telling me to relax and enjoy the fall. It was a very fast and adventurous summer, and I know that painful feeling of seeing the snow fall earlier then expected—of knowing it all went by and you didn’t take enough time to savor it. I think that voice comes from the side of me that’s always trying to slow things down and to take in a moment. It’s as if, at times, I can almost stop the world with the perfectly written line or the timely photograph that just stops you in your tracks and begs the question: Why move forward from here? And then it too is gone.
The other voice, the louder one, is telling me that there’s no way to capture life. It’s a futile act that will leave even the most hardy and ambitious with feelings of bitterness and regret. But to embrace life—to capture moments with memories of great adventures, challenges bested—that leaves a lasting impact that breathes and speaks back to you far beyond its seasonal boundary. I can not capture, in words or photographs, the tingle in my stomach that I can recreate whenever I sit and think long enough about the rush of being pulled up out of the water on my first kiteboarding lesson, and it’s with that spirit and that sentiment in mind that I’ll attack this fall. I think as a child I was imbued with a sense that we aren’t here long enough to enjoy what’s out there, and that made me slow things down and savor them as much as I could. Now, I still think our seasons and years are far too fleeting, but I’m taking the opposite approach. I’m living each day fast and full, and when it’s all said and done, I’ll be filled with memories that don’t lose their spirit over time.
It almost seems too easy, but for some reason it’s felt counter intuitive at times. Fill your life with adventure, excitement and just the right amount of time to sit back and smell the fall leaves, and you’ll be rewarded with memories that fade much slower. Try to slow down too much, and you’ll find that time has passed that cannot be captured again. I know these things, and yet they are often at conflict within me. Finding that yin and yang balance within myself sounds challenging, but it’s a challenge I embrace with a smile. Bring on the fall, bring on the adventure, and when it too has passed, half of me will be fondly looking back while the other half braces for the winter of a lifetime.
One Response to “Balance”
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Lynne Netschke says:
Another great column. Reminding us to live today, be present, is always good to stop and reflect upon.
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Tags: adventure, fly fishing, Kiteboarding, matt werbach, the gorge, View From the Gorge
