The Weight of Paper Boats

I spent this morning watching my neighbor’s toddler try to sail a folded piece of notebook paper in a rain puddle. It didn’t last long, of course. The paper grew heavy, turned to mush, and sank into the grit of the driveway. But for those few seconds, the boy was a captain of a vast, uncharted sea. We grow up and we learn that things are fragile. We learn that water ruins paper and that storms are meant to be avoided, not navigated. We trade that early, reckless confidence for a sense of caution that feels a lot like boredom. I wonder when we stop seeing the potential for adventure in the mundane obstacles of our lives. At what point does a flooded street stop being an ocean and start being just a nuisance? I think there is a quiet, stubborn magic in refusing to outgrow the belief that we can float on anything, as long as we are brave enough to push off from the shore.

Nirupam Roy has captured this spirit perfectly in his image titled Makeshift Boat. It reminds me that even when the world rises up to meet us, we can still find a way to move forward. Does this remind you of a time you turned a challenge into a game?