Row, row, row your boat,
Gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.
This famous nursery rhyme unexpectedly provided some interesting insight recently.
At the most basic level, to row one’s boat allows one to move around. However, we’re going down a stream, meaning that once we pass a certain location we can’t really go back, but we can still choose to go left or go right. In a way this reflects our lives as we live longer and longer. Every day, there are so many choices that will lead to so many different places, but we can’t really spend time thinking about about things that happened in the past, we simply need to keep rowing, rowing, rowing our boat. We should always be moving forward: seeing if we want to go left, or right, or straight ahead.
Gentleness is a word that carries with it a connotation of peace and comfort. As we go down the stream of life, we often find that it’s not easy to keep this gentleness in our boat. Deadlines rush up, assignments pile on, responsibilities overwhelm, and all our peace is robbed from us. For me personally, I’ve found that nothing comforts me more in this time than relying on my God.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6f)
Throughout my life and all its ups and downs, one constant is that my religion and faith has always been there for me. I’ve made it through many rough times by simply relying on and trusting my God to provide, and He always has.
The nursery rhyme then tells us that as we go down this stream, we should go merrily. A statement to simply be happy. A quote from a Mr. Louis Sachar (who I just found out was the author of the Sideways Stories from Wayside School, one of my favorite books when I was growing up) which I really liked:
You need a reason to be sad. You don’t need a reason to be happy.
Smile! 
And lastly, the last phrase of this nursery rhyme touches upon an existential topic that I had never associated with this rhyme. It talks of how transient and temporary this life is: 50, 60, 70, perhaps 80 years, and how much longer? After that, what happens? The dream is over. For Christians, their real lives begin afterwards, their hope of eternal salvation fully realized and their faith in God fully rewarded. They have rowed their boat down the stream, going in the directions which please God, with the peace and joy that comes from God, and are going to wake up to see God. I admit I’m not that knowledgeable on this subject, but for those of other beliefs, perhaps they’ll simply cease to exist, perhaps another stream will await them, or perhaps there’s something else entirely they’re looking for. Regardless, we cannot deny the very nature of the stream in that, above all else, it will always continue to flow. We cannot pause it, rewind it, loop it, divert it, nor anything else besides go with it. Therefore, we should strive to make the most of our lives. Let’s strive not to drift along the stream, but rather actively row to shape our lives. Let’s strive not to fight against the current but rather enjoy the peace that comes from a gentle state of mind. Let’s strive not to forget how to be happy, and let us always remember how precious our time is.
