"Outward Bound..."

"Attitude is one of those words that gets thrown around like it means something. It does, but not what most people think. It's not about how you look, dress, move, talk, or anything else you can work out with your bedroom mirror. Attitude is if you see somebody struggling, do you help... It's walking a moonlit forest like you belong there. It's going up against real obstacles and getting knocked around. Once. Twice. A zillion times. Then getting up. That's it. Just getting up over and over until one day, you're up all the way. And it can be anything. Sailing. Sea kayaking. Canoeing. Rock climbing. Whatever...". Outward Bound

Oh, how I've mused over the years, about these very words... As a teenager I discovered Outward Bound but was not able to attend until later. I dreamt longingly of what I would experience there and was not disappointed. My first experience set the course for many adventures to follow. This was also not to be my only Outward Bound course either. I was mentored about attitude and adventure... I learned that what we often believe is only 'out there' we actually can create 'within' as well... And there was indeed 'more within me' than I had ever thought. My first solo was with them and these too have continued to be enduring, powerful experiences... Outward Bound is an experiential adventure metaphor in motion... and has been the first such exposure that many great adventurers found for themselves in their youth. Kurt Hahn and the Outward Bound Schools have such an attitude of service and have given so much to both individuals and their communities. I am proud of my OB memories and pins... and grateful for the instructors and their guidance... It was during these experiences that I first started thinking that if I can do these things, so many others can too, and if so many of us can then.......

DSD