Life is but a dream :)

Row row row your boat

Gently down the stream....

Merrily Merrily Merrily Merrily

Life is but a dream ...

Almost all children of the world would know how to sing this rhyme ! When i was just a child, the rhyme didnt mean the same as it does when i am grown up. I realised that as a kid, i sang that song literally ...imagining myself rowing a boat down a stream....but once i grew up, i realised that the words meant something else...like to row your boat gently down the stream is to live your life simple and taking it easy while the next two lines meant , to be joyful and passionate about life with an understanding that this world isnt something permanent.

But then, i experienced another meaning to it when i actually got the chance to row my boat gently down the stream....for real !! Last year when i went to UK, we went to visit some friends in Colchester. And they took us boating at Dedham.

At the entrance to the boating place

  It was such a beautiful place that i fell in love with it the moment i got there ...absolutely peaceful, and so pretty ! 





Once we got there, i was all excited about boating. Though i have been on boats here in Malaysia and India, it wasnt the same with the kind of view and also i have never rowed the boat myself ! So it was the first time ever ! 

I always thought we need to be really strong to be able to row the boat by yourself and that its very difficult to get it going straight ...but i was going to try it for sure ! Wouldnt miss the chance here ! 

The view from where we get into our boats

Once we got into the boats, we first tried rowing two by two, my brother and i started rowing together. Then, he asked me if i want to try it myself ...i was of course happy to !! So i took over, with my aunt , brother and a friend in my boat, i rowed all by myself ! The first thing i realised was , it was not so tough as i thought or as i heard it would be ! In fact, it didnt take much effort to get the boat moving...of course in the beginning i was going a little zig zagged but then i got it within minutes!! Except when there was other boats coming the opposite way and we needed to stay on one side of the stream and when the wind was strong...the boat went a little off the centre...but otherwise i was ok ! In fact our friend was really impressed at how quickly i got the hang of it...as she has been living there for years and have been boating many times and yet she finds it a little tricky ...She asked me..." is this really your first time? " and i said " YUP !" 

                           

So...i rowed all the way ....made a u turn and rowed all the way back to the boathouse all by myself , i think we paid for half an hour :) Wow! i was so proud of myself then ...hehehe...

and all along the way, there were so many lovely ducks, and swans...even dogs running along the bank and taking a plunge in the stream ...really it was magical ! 

Thats our friends and my sister on the other boat 

So now after my boating experience, the rhyme means this ....

Life can never be understood by what we hear, read or see, no matter who explains it to us. Life depends only on how YOU yourself experience it ! We need to row our boat ourselves...well the rhyme clearly says Row YOUR boat...and not just row A boat isnt it ?? :) ...

so never mind if someone else finds it hard or boring. Never mind if someone warns you of the danger of rowing your boat. Only you know your strength. Never mind who is rowing the opposite way, you have your stream, you have your own breathtaking views along the stream. Just watch everything that comes your way but stay focused on your stream , enjoy the ride and come back joyfully ! :D 

ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT
GENTLY DOWN THE STREAM
MERRILY MERRILY MERRILY MERRILY
LIFE IS BUT A DREAM