Lake Superior will kill you

Lake Superior will kill you.
 
Every year, people die in the mighty waters of the unwieldy lake.
 
Native peoples called her “Kitchi Gama”:  the Great Lake.
 
Her waters are immense:  storms boil and then fade.  As I paddle-board, I always keep a searching eye on the shore and on the horizon. 
 
Luke and I are up in the North Woods on a family vacation, enjoying the tight confines of a family cabin that his grandparents build, plank by plank.  So, this newsletter is a shorter one.
 
And one of our favorite things to do, when the wind and waters align, is to paddle out to the Apostle Island Sea Caves, which are awesome.
 
Lake Superior always right-sizes me.  When I am near her, I am awestruck by a force that makes me small.
 
This is an important truth:  I am significant, but I am small.
 
Because the churn of work can make everything BIG.
 
A report that needs to be finished RIGHT NOW,
 
A client demand that is URGENT,
 
The certification that must be completed ASAP,
 
The stress and the pressure of so many things hinging on YOU.
 
Pause.
 
Some of those things are important, some are not.
 
Remember, you are not limitless.
 
The red rocks of Sedona, the spread of a bustling forest, the rhythms of Mass, all of these things ground me in my finitude.
 
As you wrap up another busy week, what are some things/places that right size you?