Still Here is a monthly column exploring the wild and rural places of S.C. and the Midlands from author and poet Cassie Premo Steele.
It hadn't been the most auspicious way to start the year.
In December of 2021, after a year of long covid that I wrote about in this column last month, my symptoms had progressed from cardiovascular and pulmonary to joint issues, and I'd hyperextended my knee while walking my dog.
So the kayaks that my wife and I had given to each other for Christmas that year threatened to remain landlocked in our back yard.
But then we thought again.
If we went somewhere close by, we thought, and tried them out in a lake rather than a creek or river, maybe that would make the trip a bit easier.
And, we realized, we could enlist the help of our adult daughter to haul the kayaks into and out of the truck, and by doing us this favor, we might together be able to make this dream of Kringle Kayaking a reality.
So the next day, we headed out to Sesquicentennial State Park, one of 16 South Carolina State Parks built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, only a few miles from our house in an otherwise urban landscape.
Sesqui, as it's called by locals, features over 1,400 acres of parkland and a 30-acre lake for fishing and paddling.
Sesqui is the perfect place to go when trying to beat the binary thinking that can keep us stuck.
"Either I have to drive a long way to immerse myself in nature or I have to stay home," you might find yourself saying.
Not at Sesqui: only a 10-mile drive from downtown Columbia and accessible on bus lines, you can have both.
This was true for me that year. I banished the thought that I had to have a fully functioning leg in order to kayak (for the very first time in my life!), and off we went.
There is a particular kind of peace one feels on the water, I learned that day.
Liberated from the slow movement across land and serenaded by the soft sounds of paddles dipping in and out of water, one realizes that there is more than enough peace in the world: we just need to overcome the tendency for all-or-nothing thinking in order to let ourselves reach out and feel it.
When I am on the water, there is a peace in my heart because I feel my body expanding to take in the trees, the breeze, the birdsong and the light bouncing off the ripples the paddles leave.
I am all that, my heart says to me, and all that is you, too.
I breathe in deeply as if saving the experience for later, indoors.
The trees settle into my thighs and spine, their trunks becoming what brings me strength when yet another wave of ocean of worries comes crashing.
The breeze enters my chest and swirls into each crevice through the oxygen my blood delivers to every part of me, whether I am moving or sleeping or sitting still and waiting.
The birdsong melts into my voice and my words come out more sweetly, knowing that we all have pains we are carrying, and honey is the glue that can feed us in any situation.
And the light on the water is reflected in my eyes as I look at you looking back at me, and I am, we are, this world is so full of wonder and beauty that the only response in that moment is a sense of gratitude for all this blue and green harmony.
Water is an element known for its cleansing, calming and healing properties, and I certainly experienced that during my first kayaking trip.
In fact, my leg healed so well after that first kayaking trip that by the time of my springtime birthday, we were able to rent a paddle boat with our grandson and enjoy the lake with yet another generation.
Because fortunately for all of us, in addition to allowing the public to access the lake in their own non-motorized boats, Sesqui also has kayaks, canoes, fishing boats and paddle boats for rent, plus over 100 other features such as campsites, picnic shelters, hiking and biking trails, a splash pad and a dog park.
Whatever you are facing this year, you can face it with more courage and peace at Sesqui.