Every January, all over the world, people look to the past to evaluate what they can do better in the coming year. From exercising more and eating less to traveling more and worrying less, we make resolutions with the hope of making our lives healthier and happier. But this year, your thoughtful friends at 1 Mississippi want to help you add both meaning and happiness to your lives.

Recent research shows the happiest people are focused on the present day, but meaning shows up when our actions connect the past to the future, when our actions have context.

Thankfully, 1 Mississippi helps combine happiness and meaning in our lives every day. (Don’t worry, we’ve got your back!) Anyone who has participated in a River cleanup knows the happiness of working alongside friends, focusing on the job at hand and feeling satisfied after accomplishing a good day’s work. Putting that day into perspective shows how it fits into an ongoing timeline of previous volunteer work going back through the years.  By acting for the River that day, we know our work is meaningful in the grand scheme of creating a healthier River.

So there you have it: happiness and meaning all in one act! Remember, the actions you take today contribute to a bigger picture of River health and you are doing something meaningful.

Get to Know the River

Bird watching, biking along River trails, exploring museums, photographing sunsets—there are limitless ways to get out there and explore the River. Thanks to our friends at the Quapaw Canoe Company, it is now easier to get to know the River than ever before.

The River Gator website currently provides information on hundreds of miles of the Mississippi River and upon it’s completion, it will describe over 1,000 miles of the River between St. Louis and the Gulf of Mexico, creating a comprehensive River trail. This is the very first river guide written for paddlers, including beautiful photos, practical knowledge, decades of experience, eloquent text and easy-to-read Google maps. Talk about making the most of the present and then making it meaningful! To celebrate the launch of this amazing resource, I took a trip on the River with John Ruskey, the site’s lead instigator and contributor. From this experience, I will provide a slightly different perspective of how an adventure on the River is a microcosm of humanity, through a 6 part blog series called, “River Gator: Exploring the River, Expanding Ourselves.”

Maybe a River paddling trip is in your future? Start your own exploration of the River by exploring the River Gator site! Then decide if you want to launch your own expedition, or leave the logistics to the Quapaw Canoe Company and join them to explore the River in person.

 

Yours in respect and service,

Annette Anderson, 1 Mississippi Outreach Coordinator

 

 

 

 

Trivia Question:

The River Gator website does not contain:
a.    Safety Tips
b.    Good Campsite Locations
c.    Information on Local Attractions
d.    A list of all Rivers with Alligators in them

Find the answer in How the River Raises You to Be Your Best, Series Episode 1