JWRP Journey: Kayaking, camels and creativity

Now that I'm back from the Jewish Women's Renaissance Project trip to Israel, I want to share a few lessons learned ... and the easiest way may be a day-by-day review. We'll start with activities for Tuesday, July 24th. We were jetlagged but jazzed as we left Tiberias to go kayaking on the Jordan River.

I'd never been kayaking before, but it won't surprise you to learn that I spent most of the time at the back of the boat, paddling and steering.

Hey! What would you expect? The trip was just beginning. I hadn't realized yet there were plenty of women on this ride perfectly capable of moving our boat in the right direction.

Despite my control freak tendencies, my first kayaking experience was a blast. We even turned the dang boat around in time to go over the "rapids" face forward. Whoo hoo! Later in the week, I would ride a camel. Another first.

The lesson learned:  I like kayaking. I don't like camels. Will I go kayaking again? Absolutely. But next time, I won't go in circles as much and I won't drink the river water. I can be taught.

And that's the real creativity lesson of kayaking and camels.

You learn something new every time you try something new.

As we move through our own individual journeys, it's absolutely essential to try new adventures -- and absolutely no reason to wait. You don't have to travel halfway around the world to explore your options. Wonders await us everywhere.

What have you always wanted to do? Hike a long trail? Sail a boat? Paint a picture? Do it. Do it now.

P.S. It's nice to let someone else steer the boat and lead the camel. Really, really, really, really nice.