As paddlers , we think you might appreciate the attached that Roger Chao wrote – it sums up the essence of paddlers everywhere . Wishing you all the best for 2024 and realising your ambitions from all of us at the Paddler and Canoe Focus magazines .
PADDLER 3
ROGER CHAO
Feeding the Rat
As paddlers , we think you might appreciate the attached that Roger Chao wrote – it sums up the essence of paddlers everywhere . Wishing you all the best for 2024 and realising your ambitions from all of us at the Paddler and Canoe Focus magazines .
Roger Chao is an avid nature enthusiast , conservationist and lover of all things outdoors . Since a young age he has always been inspired by the concept of ' Feeding the Rat ' which has lead him on numerous adventures and expeditions around the globe . Currently he spends more time reminiscing and writing as an armchair ratfeeder but is hoping this balance can change soon !
In the throbbing heart of chaos , where adrenaline cascades , There lives a starving animal , a creature of the shades . Its name is known by few who dare , the mind it ’ s habitat , For every soul who dares to delve , must learn to feed the rat .
This is not a beast of fur and claw , of whisker , tail , and fang , No , this beast is born within , a silent , hungry pang . It yearns for fire , for flight , for fear , for moments pure and raw , For within the wild whirlwind ' s eye , it finds its sacred law .
The rat within craves not the scraps of ordinary days , Not the idle chatter , nor the familiar , well-trodden ways . It demands the sharp edge of adrenalin , slicing through the haze , The thunderous roar of action , setting dormant hearts ablaze .
In the noise and rumble of the storm , it seeks the quiet core , In the terror ' s tremble , it finds calm , and hungers all the more . It craves the stillness found in speed , the peace in pounding hearts , And in those moments , lost in time , the mundane world departs .
Feed the rat , the mantra hums , an echo in the soul , A siren call to those who tire of life ' s incessant toll . A remedy for weariness , for the weight of the passing days , For those who wander the flatland , lost in the superficial haze .
To feed the rat is to quench the thirst , to heed the inner plea , A feast of heightened sensation , a surrender to the spree . In the quiet cocoon of fury , in the tranquil eye of fear , Lie the morsels the rat savours , each moment crystal clear .
To feed the rat is prevention , a cure , a potent antidote , Against the anemia of routine , against a life lived by rote . Against the sickness of superficiality , the pallor of the mundane , Against the dreariness of predictability , the shackle and the chain .
Each day we choose to feed the rat is a day lived in defiance , Of the nebulous boundaries , of faceless compliance . The rat refuses to be a slave to time , to live in bursts and spurts , It craves the unrestrained , the open skies , the untrodden dirt .
Not all will understand this craving , this hunger raw and real , It is a rhythm felt by few , an undercurrent only they can feel . The ones who find their sustenance in the unpredictable , the wild , The ones who reject the safety of the known , who long to be reconciled .
In their hearts beats the rat , robust , alive and free , Unfettered by trivial pursuits , unburdened by decree . The rat seeks no public praise , no validation in which to wallow , It cares not for trends or crowd , it chooses its own path to follow .
The rat , if fed , is a faithful friend , a mirror of the self , A measure of the soul within , not wealth or fame but health . To know the rat is to know oneself , both the ebb and the surge , To seek the summit and the depth , where fear and calm converge .
The rat in each of us is different , a personal compass of the mind , A reflection of who we think we are , and the self , we seek to find . It ' s revealed in times of pressure , in the struggles , we engage , On the rock , in the water , through the air , its hunger sets the stage .
The rat , a duality within us , both of virtue and of vice , Nourished , it guides us gladly , starved , it exacts its heavy price . It reveals to us who we truly are , in moments raw and real , The grit beneath the gloss , the strength within the ordeal .
Each of us harbours the rat , a part of us untamed , It craves the rush of the cliff edge , the challenge yet unnamed . Some will find their rat in mountains , where the snow meets sky , Others in the silent depths , where the deep-sea creatures lie .
It ' s a siren call to sensation , to moments stark and pure , A hunger for total focus , for feelings raw and sure . Those moments when all fades away , except the task at hand , These are the times we live for , which only the passionate understand .
It ' s in the heart of challenge , in the face of strife and toil , That the rat reveals our inner selves , in this terrestrial coil . To quench the thirst of this inner beast , to feel its wild elation , Is to truly know oneself , in joyous revelation .
The moments of pure clarity , when senses are unfazed , Are the feast that nourishes the rat , that sets the soul ablaze . These are the moments that matter , the peak of the ascent , The fragments of eternity , where meaning is intent .
To feed the rat is to delve deep , to confront the dark abyss , To explore the breadth of the self , to court the serpent ' s hiss . Through suffering , strife , and challenge , the depths of self unfurl , An understanding profound , a rare and precious pearl .
So , feed your rat , let it feast on life , on fear , thrill , and delight , Let it guide you through the storm , to the calm and quiet light . For to starve the rat is to starve the self , of the zest , the verve , the spark , In feeding the rat , we feed our souls , a beacon in the dark .
To snuff out life , not knowing this truth , the potential left untapped , Is the greatest sorrow one could bear , in life ' s intricate , endless lap . So let us strive , let us quest , let us dare to feed the rat , For in the echoes of its satisfaction , we find where our true selves are at .
PADDLER 3