After a scramble experience on my second Outward Bound course, we found ourselves sitting among and on top of some very large rocks later in the day... Our Instructors invited us to each take turns sharing something personal of the days events and adventures. They asked us to describe these moments as if we were going through them again; with an emphasis on our senses, our thoughts, the very perceptions of each moment...There were many views of that simple day; many different perceptions of the same experience; the angles of which we may not have seen before... Each person had such a unique perspective of the climb itself, the rockfall that surprised us, the effort if took, the support given, the doubts and fears that were unsaid but still shared...
What was most interesting was a common theme that developed about the outcome of the day, and the events that were all linked together... It seemed to be a theme reflecting ideas about fate and of destiny...
Fate is often described in the sense of things being predetermined in our lives... that we have little true influence upon the course of things... Some see destiny in this way too, but more others believe destiny is more accurately found in the sense of our own choices; in what we did with what has happened; in how we each choose to respond to such external circumstances...
Our discussions seemed to mirror our beliefs that we were creating our own destiny that day in the wild places... on that high mountain summit... even with all the adversity that faced us...
These may sound to be seemingly simple concepts, yet such can have very profound impacts upon the course of our lives and our adventures... That day Outward Bound gifted us not just with an adventure summit or impassioned discussion out there, but with truly meaningful tenets to then apply to our day to day living... These were powerful experiences for such young persons...
These learnings were all about understanding our own choices; personal control for what we can; and taking real action to influence the course of our own lives in the best ways possible...
These have real impacts upon our adventure outlook and how we handle the inherent challenges of these activities. The distinct benefit though is the lasting and sustained effects upon the whole rest of our lives...
Who would have thought that a single day scrambling... among the barren rocks of an unnamed peak... would inspire such ponderings...
DSD
1 comment:
Fate is a fickle thing. When something like that happens, everyone has thoughts like, "If i'd started two mintes later... or if I had gone slower..." The what-ifs are what get me. I just have to push them out of my mind, but it certainly gives you a new perspective on life.
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