Texas Water Safari offers life lessons about not giving up

Dear Readers, Known as “The World’s Toughest Canoe Race,” the Texas Water Safari takes place each summer, allowing paddlers to test their physical and mental strength while traversing more than 260 miles of the San Marcos River from source to sea. Recently, the Texas Junior Safari took place, covering the first 16 miles of the course. Although I only saw parts of the race through Facebook live coverage, it was a joy to observe the large number of novice and veteran racers take on this challenge, even from afar.

Among the participants were several parent and child teams, and I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy, wishing I could have been in the boat with my son as well. When we completed the Jr. Safari together in 2021, there was a moment in the race when he proclaimed, “The more we paddle, the less impossible it seems!” His revelation still echoes in my head, and I continue to feel proud of him for having the courage to embark on that challenge and gain this valuable lesson.

I firmly believe that profound life lessons are gained through this unique ultramarathon. Having been just crazy enough to complete two of these grueling endurance tests myself, I’d like to share with you some of those lessons.

“Get back in the boat!” became a familiar and repeated phrase that my coach would shout at me throughout the 2016 training season. He explained that it gets harder and harder to return to the discomfort of the canoe once you get out to stretch your legs and chat with folks on the bank at the checkpoints. When you flip your boat and get knocked out, he warned that sometimes you might just want to stay out and call it quits. However, getting back in the boat is absolutely paramount to making it to the finish line.

The next year, while vacationing with my niece in Costa Rica to celebrate her high school graduation, I took a surfing lesson. To my surprise, my surf coach had an uncanny resemblance to my paddling coach, right down to his “magic hair.” A large wave slapped me off my board and sent me into a pool of jellyfish. I cried out that I was being repeatedly stung, and he shouted back, “It only stings a little! Get back on the board!” I complied immediately — a reflex of my strong training — and I couldn't help but laugh and shake my head at the striking similarity between my coaches and their matching life lessons.

When enduring challenging adventures and riding life’s waves, the lessons are crystal clear: “Get back in the boat!” Whether shouted from the banks of a Texas river or a black-sand beach in Costa Rica, the sincere truth is that overcoming challenges is a journey worth taking. It’s not just about the physical act of getting back on the board, in the boat, or even on that horse; it’s about getting back up when life knocks you down. It’s about understanding that setbacks and discomfort will occur, yet they do not define us.

Don't be deterred by the occasional stings or rough waters. With each attempt, we grow stronger, wiser, and ever more resilient. With determination and our willingness to keep paddling, we find that it's not as unreachable or impossible as it once seemed.

In the end, it's the journey, not the destination. Despite all the pain, it’s about those invaluable lessons we accept along the way. As life inevitably throws you off balance, allow my magic-haired coaches to echo inside your head as well: “Get back in the boat!”

Keep going! The impossible can indeed become possible when you don’t stop paddling!

Xoxo,

Kelly Stone is an educator, comedian, mother, and author who loves the heck outta the river. She welcomes e-letters at kellystone.org or kellystonecomedy@gmail. com and adores handwritten notes and postcards via good ol’ snail mail.