I watched a documentary the other day that referenced the world being approximately 4.5 billion years old. Billions of years old! Other sources place our planet history in the millions. As I sat in my kayak out on the lake thinking about this, I fell into an awe-struck place of wonder and gratitude for Mother Nature once again.

I don’t begin to pretend that I can even comprehend the enormity of millions or billions of years of constant change. As I continued to think and ponder, I paddled south, down the lake. The wind and waves were up, so I had to put some muscle into it. I knew where I wanted to go and I was making it happen.

My mind drifted to our human history, our place on this ancient planet. Our time here has been, relatively speaking, short; yet our impact, significant. We have made so much progress and continue to make things happen; we make a difference, make inventions, make a play, make believe, make a date, make it up, make meals, make love, make a name, make a goal, make a deal, make a wish, make money, and the list goes on.

In a Google search, “to make” brings up 7,580,000,000 results. We are makers.

I reached my destination on the lake. I was a little wet and my muscles were fatigued. As I rested my paddle, I pulled out some snacks from the dry bag. As I ate my nuts and fruit, the wind and waves slowly began to turn my kayak sideways. With a few adjustments, I pointed the nose towards home and allowed the kayak to be pushed from behind.

It wasn’t a free ride. I still had to correct my course with my paddle, but I knew where I was going and it was obviously much easier being in the flow of the water.

I took in the beautiful scenery as I floated along and my mind put the pieces of my thoughts together. What can we continue to learn from Mother Nature; how can we be more effective makers in our lives and who do we get to be to make our lives and the lives of others more in the flow of the journey?

Elizabeth Shopland is a horticulturist for Homefront Essentials Gardening, a Certified Solution Focused Coach, author and speaker, and the owner of Banyan Tree Solutions. She can be reached at 250-342-8978 or btswellness.com.