A Beautiful Day For It

On Thursday, the sky was a deep, thick gray. It was warm, but very cloudy. But my husband and I decided to risk it and go kayaking. As we were approached the boat launch, two fishermen were coming in.

One smiled warmly at us and said, “Beautiful day for it.”

I was thinking, “Is this guy for real?” It is completely lousy out. I laughed shortly and said, “Well it could be better out.”

“It’s better than working,” he said, his eyebrows scolding me.

He wasn’t joking. He went on to say how much he loved fishing there and how he was there for a special trip with his twin brother. Come to find out he grew up in Keene. We parted warmly after sharing a few stories.

Our goal was to paddle out to an island and picnic. It was very windy and I had trouble keeping the boat headed in the right direction. Dark clouds were on the horizon threatening us. As we approached the island we came upon two more fishermen. One of them nodded, smiled, and said, “Beautiful day for it.”

Yes, those exact words. “Is this a fisherman’s code or creed?” I was thinking. This time I answered politely, “Indeed, it is.”

As we ate quickly to avoid getting caught in a thunderstorm, I couldn’t help but think about the fishermen’s comments. It was so strange that they both had said the exact same thing. I asked my husband what he thought of it. “I think they are just really happy to be out fishing,” he said.

After lunch we circled the island. As we completed the circle and approached open water, the conditions had deteriorated. “It’s going to be very hard getting back,” my husband said. “I don’t think we’ve ever paddled in conditions this rough, it’s windy and there are a lot of white caps.” He asked if I wanted to hug the shoreline, which would take longer, but might be easier. I said I was OK with crossing open water.

As I got into a stride, I actually enjoyed myself. I was working really hard, but it was fun to be fighting the wind and watching waves break over my boat. My body was completely centered on paddling in a way that I don’t have to be in calm water. But my mind was still hung up on the fishermen.

I felt like there was something I was missing, something they could teach me. “Beautiful day for it,” was running over and over in mind. Then it made sense to me.

“It” was about knowing what the “it” is. Today was about kayaking, about plunging and pulling the paddle through the fresh, green water. It was not about the dark sky. It was about the water.

I was so concerned about the weather I had lost track of what was most important. I had a bad attitude and no focus.

These errors in my thinking don’t just apply to boating. I have done this for years with eating. I have spent days or weeks souring my attitude about an event where I won’t be able to eat anything I want in any amount I want. I never realized my bad attitude, not my eating plans, is what would stop me from having fun.

…Even if it was a beautiful day for a… wedding, banquet, shower, bat mitzvah, or family reunion. The “it” in all these cases was about family, friends, ceremonies, and celebrations. It is never about food. Food is more like the weather—secondary to the main event, not the core activity. It is always something else. No one is ever going to say it is a beautiful day to overeat.

I realized I need to do a better job at figuring out what the “it” is. I need to focus on making that the most important thing. If I do, I’m much more likely to enjoy myself. I need to stop packing my own clouds to take on vacation.

By the time I got back to shore, I was thoroughly pleased with my paddle. I could have kept going. I was sorry to see it end. It really was a beautiful day for it.