The Difference Between Stillness and Action

When I crossed the Schrödinger River to get to the Forest of Speculation, the water level wasn’t this high. But that’s what I get for wanting to spend the day in the forest. Time operates differently there, it is fluid and elastic. You go in on a warm day and come out and there’s snow everywhere. Or, at the very least, the morning sun could be beating down on the back of your neck, and the next thing you know - like the situation I’m in now - it’s twilight and who knows how much time has passed.

The water was barely up to my knees and I crossed with no problems. That’s one of the things I’ve heard about the river and the forest - they work together to play pranks on people. A bit of retribution for polluting the water and cutting down trees. The joke’s on me today, but I wasn’t visiting to cause harm. I needed to figure something out and where’s the best place to do that? The Forest of Speculation. It’s right there in the title.

Another new addition was a man sitting by the edge of the water. Right offshore was a makeshift raft that looked like a bunch of halved tree trunks fastened together with thick ropes. When I popped out of the forest, the man - who looked like a fit version of Santa Clause - was looking right at me. Like he knew I was coming and I’d exit the forest right at that spot.

He watched me as I approached the shore to investigate. Sure, the water level was higher, but maybe I could swim across.

“I wouldn’t swim across,” Santa said, reading my mind.

“How did you know I was thinking that?”

“You just had a certain ‘maybe I could swim across’ kind of look,” he said without a hint of sarcasm.

I approached Santa and he followed my gaze to his raft.

“You want a ride?” He asked. “That’s what I’m here for. Not you, specifically. It’s just my job, I bring people across the river when it’s too high. But there’s a price.”

“I don’t have any money on me,” I said, and to emphasize, pulled my pockets inside out.

Santa didn’t say anything for a very long time.

“Maybe we can figure out a barter?” He asked. “What is something you can give me that’s free but could cost you everything if you take it back?”

“Oh, we’re doing riddles?”

“No, I don’t do riddles. What is something you can give me that’s free but could cost you everything if you take it back?”

“I have no idea.”

“Your attention.”

“My attention? You have my attention now.”

“Do I? Like, really?”

I looked down and up the river.

“It’s too far for you to walk around. The Schrödinger River is a natural border between the Forest of Speculation and the State of Schrödinger. It’s twenty-seven kilometres long and we’re smack in the middle. There’s one bridge over the river, but it’s ten kilometres that way.”

He pointed upriver. He certainly has my attention now.

“Good,” responding to my thought. “Let’s get going, the water is going to get rough.”

The water was calm enough to skip a stone on. He readied the raft, unfurling the rope that held it docked to shore. He stopped me when I went to step on the raft.

“Most people that travel with me don’t make it to the other side.”

“That is good to know,” I said.

“It’s not my responsibility that people make bad choices. I am responsible for myself. There are moments to be still and there are moments for actions. Give me your attention and I will help you figure out to know the difference. Most people don’t.”

I stepped on the raft and he pointed to handles where I can hold on. I didn’t understand his concern until we pushed off. The calm water exploded into rapid-like thundering waves. I basically lay down face first on the raft, hands on handles. He snapped his fingers at me - he didn’t talk, it felt like his voice was in my head: “Give me your attention. Be still.”

The waves grew larger and we went almost vertically up and down them. I held on for my life. My arms and shoulders and neck were sore from straining to remain on the raft. White knuckled. Meanwhile, Santa stood upright and didn’t seem to be having any trouble staying that way.

His voice popped into my head again: “Allow yourself to communicate with the waves. Flow with them. Fighting against them gives them strength. You have to stand up because there’s something I need you to do.”

Communicate with the waves? What the hell was I supposed to do? Talk to them? His voice again: “No, feel them.” Oh, that clarifies things. But, something weird did happen - I loosened my grip and tried to relax, which was difficult as the waves got higher. I managed to stand. “Good, it is now time for action. When I tell you, lean all your weight towards the edge.”

I knew why he asked this. As we approached the midway point, I saw a wave coming - the biggest one yet. We went up the wave and at the top, his voice was no longer in my head, but screaming from his mouth: “NOW!” And I shifted my weight so the raft went with the wave.

And the next thing I knew, we were docking at the shore. I hopped off the raft, turned around, and Santa and his raft had disappeared.