"Paradox Sports - The Way Of Inspiration By Example"

There is a great deal within adventures and so much out among the elements that we may feel to be paradoxical... Paradoxes within the beauty of effort, of spirit and wonder, of embracing the seemingly impossible... So what is this mystery of paradox to be discovered within our wanderings; who are these inspiring adventurers of such Paradox Sports?

Old wise references say that paradoxes may first be perceived as beliefs of seemingly self-contradictory statements, and yet hidden within are amazing explicable truths. Persons, things, or actions can all exhibit apparently elusive but true contradictions it would seem. Quinn & Cameron said that most, "Fundamentally, paradox embraces clashes of ideas", and that this meeting, "involves contradictory, mutually exclusive elements", that are most interestingly, "present and operate equally at the same time". Fletcher & Olwyler point out that the way towards understanding such paradox is to grasp that these "seeming impossibilities have to do with a person's own limited frame of reference", and most importantly that, "when a way is found to make both concepts real simultaneously, a deeper truth is revealed".

Paradox Sports have found a way to reveal such truths... A way of inspiration, a way of example, and a way of embracing all sides of ourselves and all the many unique challenges we each face, be they physical, emotional, or of the psyche and spirit too...

Their vision is one where, "Paradox Sports envisions a world where people of all backgrounds and abilities can pursue a life of excellence through human-powered outdoor sports, regardless of physical disability or limb-count".

Empowerment is their method, inspiration is their means, especially by way of setting adventurous examples for so many. They believe their journey is indeed the destination and make their way notwithstanding seemingly impossible barriers of circumstance or perception. Like they say when, "A paraplegic scaled the 3000 foot walls of El Capitan and a blind man climbed to the top of Mount Everest we were all forced to recalibrate our perceptions of the possible". One of their callings is to grasp for more clear 'perceptions of the possible' - four words that resonate for anyone who adventures, almost all who wander out there, and that we each eventually embrace closely as we create our own path, our own trails through the trials of our lives...

'Authenticity' is one of the ways which they put their beliefs into motion; as written on their website: "You won't find too many wallflowers in our group, but you will find wounded vets, climbers who lost limbs, people with congenital amputations and paraplegics. Right alongside of them, you'll bump into world-class climbers, riders and cyclists, business owners, bookkeepers, musicians, inventors, and university professors filling out the ranks. What brings us together? It's the desire to give back to a community that has given us so many memories, lifelong friends, and rich rewards". Such genuine connections are often much of what we seek when we venture out in the wild places with other kindred spirits as ourselves... They say further that, "Whether we're climbing, paddling, biking, surfing, or hiking, the physical challenge in a natural environment brings us together", "The desire to live a life of excellence, to pursue our dreams and reach our goals while helping others reach theirs".

Read over DJ Skelton's story who in the midst of his own recovery from injuries as a Veteran, found himself asking, "Does one really need arms to climb? How about legs to ski?", and how such reframed reflections speak to "The phenomenal power of the human spirit"... Timmy O'Neill's story too shares these shifts of paradigms about the hidden potential that usually lays quietly within all of us and describes how to find, "The truly indomitable and irrepressible human spirit that is fostered through exploration of wild places both internally, in our minds and hearts and, externally, in our rivers and mountains"...

I find it difficult to put into words the connection I sense and the inspiration I feel when pondering the potency of such experiences... There is much here we could all muse by the campfire about and then so hopefully embrace in the ways we choose to see the world and then lead the adventures of our lives...

Look over their Glossary too, reflect on the words and meanings found there, that are not often encountered on an outdoor adventure site, like: "Disability Paradox, Quad, Renegade Spontaneity, Stump" among others...

Paradox Sports is a community where such shared paths may be created, in so many unique adventure ways, and wild place means. I have always believed, have experienced myself, and seen in so many others, that there is more within us than we often know, so many hidden elusive strengths than we may ever realize, and Paradox Sports shows us how to discover these by a 'way of example'... Please visit their site, read the stories there of inspiration by example, and pass forward their resourceful and spirited message to anyone who may need it!

DSD

My thanks to Paradox Sports' Gallery for the above images.

"The Quietest Voices Calling..."

"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."

I. Kant

There are very few of us adventurers who have not had desires and dreams about, and then actual experiences in sharing the wild places with, our family of wild ones out there. Our experiences become so very special when this happens, when we see them, especially when we share a moment among them, and so we hope though while elusive that this will happen again and again for us... Most of us cherish these moments almost as none other, they are so unique, so touching. Then we also often want to reflect upon our own lives through totems and symbols of what these special creatures of the earth represent to each of us...

I have forever longed for such connection with the wild ones, the quiet ones, and have been so grateful when it occurs. We admire their courage, their tenacity & endurance, their strength, their energy, the very spirit with which they live their lives out there. Without asking for anything in return they share with us their wisdom, and the mystery & memories of ageless wonders... Yet we also know, as ones who wander out there, the risks they too face. We have seen the realities and the impacts of changes and clashes of territory, species, and cultures. We feel it deeply when their hurt voices are raised. The truth of it is, even with their wild ways and powers we may envy, that they are really the most vulnerable ones, these quiet ones who call to us...

Within their callings they point us towards ways of fulfilling our own longings. We adventure as we can, they must venture always... We wander wild places to enhance our lives, they journey wild places because it is their lives... We are an integral part within both of each others history and future. They are our most precious ones. They are an essential part of our family, can be our teachers, our guides, our healers. They are the most vulnerable ones. They need us, yet we need them just as much, do we not my friends...

What would the wild places be without our family of wild ones? We often hear their voices when they call in the dark, when dawn begins, and they can be heard too as we stop and listen and still ourselves when we wander out there. They are the quietest voices, strong but often scared voices, they call as much to us as they do to each other to listen, to hear, to know, to feel...

Strong as they are they are vulnerable too. We know of such vulnerabilities, as we have touched it through our human frailties and with the risks we experience as we adventure. We are as vulnerable as well for in losing these quiet ones, in not hearing their voices, in not taking those paths that might mean some extra efforts on our part - will most certainly result in the loss of experiences shared with them and horizons only dreamed of...

We can do this, we who wander and adventure. We have strengths that can be theirs, and these quiet ones will then in turn share their wisdom with us, which may a saving grace for all...

On this 40th anniversary of a Day for the Earth, please listen with me for a while as the quietest voices are calling... They are calling for us. They are quiet voices reaching out to each of us. Let us each respond, in our own way, even in some small way, and then go out there again, to see them, to embrace them, because we really are on one and the same path.....

DSD

"The Way Of Adventure Xing..."

Following the Tao is an ancient way of wandering through many levels of understandings...

It is a way of living, a path to head out upon, a trail of mystery to follow, and an enlightened course set out before us. It is one of countless ways of being in the world, and especially out among the wilds, that I have pondered over so many seasons. Tao is one way of many that I am sure adventurers seek out and embrace... A way of seeing, of moving, of blending with what we discover out there and within each of us as well...

In the woods, by those waters, I was recently reading and musing over the Tao concepts of 'Xing'. Interestingly, Xing (pronounced zing), seems to reflect further, deeper concepts involving meditation and moving, waking and walking, and holds to other ancient ideas as well that involve finding certain personal pathways, of following the flow of things, of becoming the activity itself...

Xing is written to have even more elusive, more hidden meanings, that reflect something of the elements. So Xing may mean not just a 'way' of being, but the very means - the elements themselves, the very music by which everything is then composed.

To wander a trail, to muse by the water, and to ponder one of the many great philosophies... Such wonderful quietly adventurous moments in the wilds as we approach this Day for the Earth...

DSD

"Of Images And Reflections..."

There is a small mirror in this mountain hut, placed just by the door. When I return here, I have often thought about why it was placed just so; positioned in that location and in that unique way.

I wonder... was it put up by one who knew that the image we see of ourselves just before we head out on another alpine start - is a telling reflection... Of excitement and desire, of commitment and confidence, maybe of challenges and even a touch of doubt at times...

All those who have made it to this remote point before would have passed this piece of glass and silver. All would have shared in the hopes we each have of summit dreams and our aspirations of altitude out there... All those yet to come will stand there too, seeing themselves before they adventure out, registering for a moment before they depart, the images of our outer self and often of our innermost self too...

These glimpses are telling, often calling, sometimes quietly sharing of the adventurers' we hope to be in the wild places, the experiences we so desire to have, among the journeys we intentionally undertake.

Then, when we first step back into the warmth and comforts of that mountain hut, returning from a further high point, maybe another trial by rock and ice and snow... That mirror waits there still - holding within it reflections of another kind... Those of accomplishment, of a wonderful summit success, even of humbleness, of fellowship and fulfillment. A simple small mirror it is... With such powerful, lasting reflections...

DSD

"Over And Over Again..."

"Over and over again, those with the 'adventure attitude' return to places of previous failures. They do so not only out of sheer persistence, but because they are slowly gathering knowledge that they know will eventually lead to success." A. Hobson

Time to reflect again on the gathering of such experiences... DSD

"Working It Out..."

"There is a way out of every dark mist; over a rainbow trail." R. Motherwell

Adventuring is often about solving problems out there, and meeting challenges while encountering and tangling with the unexpected. Many times there can also be no better place than the wilds to get a sense of whatever else may be being bothersome in our lives. While wandering we find room to back away from concerns and develop more perspective and clearer horizons on any issue. The wilds inherently provide us with the ways and means and elements to see any such distractions in a much greater, richer, and larger vista...

Getting out there supports us in seeing things in new ways, for our resolve towards solutions, and provides the energy to get whatever it is out of our system. We work it out among the waves, sort it out while moving over rock, find the quiet we need in the desert to think, the meditation so useful along the river to let go, and the inspiration among the mountains to keep on...

Many times whatever it is, seems to simply disappear like the fog does when the sun rises high, and then we often discover there was nothing of real substance there to worry endlessly about anyway.

Wild places are a gift for natural resolution... It's not about escaping from something back here, its more about working it out by embracing the wonderful elements and rainbows out there...

DSD

My appreciation to K. Su for the above wonderful images.

"Gifts Of....."

"We were two men in a land of stone and we walked toward the same star...

That... was the gift of our mountains". G. Rebuffat

Stones and stars,
Rock and sky,
Wind and waves,
Wild wonders to ponder,
Elemental gifts while we wander...
DSD