"Putting Boots On Our Dreams..."

To ponder is one thing. to muse another.
Reflection is wonderful, and dreaming is a gift.
We have such abilities to envision all that we so want to wander among and through. Our minds create the possibilities, and then it is time to climb further...
"Put some boots on your dreams", our Outward Bound Instructor said.
Then we were to learn of the wild places beyond contemplation; of the terrain of taking actions. These were steps on trails of another kind, towards horizons of dreams now made very real.
'Boots on our dreams' - a so potent shared metaphor, said so long ago to us, long pondered over many more seasons, and now passed forward once more to all of you Dear Friends..... DSD

Dedicated this adventure day to all our wonderful Outward Bound Schools.

 

"Begin Where Your Energy Is..."

I've heard Mountain & Sea Kayak Guides, as well as our Outward Bound Instructors, all mention it.
We've seen it in action in the Grand Canyon; experienced it in ways hard to describe while climbing and when out upon the ocean; felt it so sustain us on longer treks.
And we are still seeking out the meanings of to 'go where the energy is'...
I believe this to be a quietly, profoundly, simply important concept for those of us who wander. We only need to witness its' magic once in a fellow adventurer, after seeing them so tired and worn out past where a person would be expected to last. Yet they do...
We see them discover a different source of energy, a whole new wellspring of enthusiasm and motivation to keep on going. It is then we ask: What is this means for motion have they tapped into; what elemental energies have they aligned with?
While as individuals we do vary in our physical makeup, in our internal energies of motivation and drive, and as well in how our external objectives then pull each of us forward - energy is the essence that any adventurer draws upon to make their wild place dreams become real.
Ability is only the beginning.
Energy is what makes it sustaining.
So, what does this mean - 'to go where the energy is'? Could it be about those places of geomancy where a force, some kind of latent power, emanates from the elements themselves?
Might it be the synergy of shared vigour and fun that group activity out there radiates in countless dynamic ways?
What is hidden behind that which incites each of us, that causes our hearts to beat so, that stimulates our mind, our spirit, the very core of our being?
Maybe it is the potential to be discovered within every new experience; possibly the passions each of us have that fuels our personal flames; or also quite likely the endless variations of the elements themselves that never cease to inspire each of us out there. So wherever your elemental enthusiasms wait for you Dear Finder, trek towards them, embrace them, allow yourself to be infused by them. Ask yourself right then, why does this stimulate me so, what is it that I want here, what do I want this to mean, why is this so important for me.
Such questions and the resulting musings will surely guide each of us to where your own lasting energies await..... DSD

"Yet Still, They Began..."

"The one thing that all famous authors, world class adventurers & athletes, business tycoons, singers, actors, and celebrated achievers in any field have in common - is that they all began their journeys when they were none of these things. Yet still, they began their journeys...".  M. Dooley

"In The Dawning Of Our New Day..."

In the dawning of a new day, within the dawnings of our shared early year, we may find so many promises...

A promise of assurances that we will be just fine, just like what our climbing partner offers as they hold out a rope for us.

A promise of possibilities yet to be discovered as when we first launch out from the shoreline.

A promise to enlighten us with being able to see with new eyes, as we always feel when gazing out from that finally attained elusive summit.

A promise that we will indeed find our way because the compass will always point north.

In the dawning of a new day are promises reflecting hope, that which affirms the future, and holds out the potential for as many things as impossible to count as the pebbles on an endless beach.

In the first moments of dawn all things may come to be.

During that first light within a new days beginning, wonderment is always present.

We are promised too that the such dawnings will forever be there for us, full of prospects, new horizons, and gifts of refreshed perspectives and renewed energies.

These are the profoundly simple promises we may discover within the dawning of this new day among the dawnings of our shared early year... DSD

 

Dedicated this early year to all those wonderful wanderers who are Adventuring For Another Reason out there.

"A Beginning Year 'Why'..."

"The Greeks pondered the causes of things. If you had asked them, 'Why are there mountains' they'd give you four causes. The Material cause is the ground has the potential to become a mountain. The Efficient cause is that mountains are just elevated earth standing up. The Formal cause is the earth raised them up. But the Final cause is where it gets interesting. They'd say the Final cause of mountains is they exist because humans need to look up and dream..."
"I've always been fascinated by the why . You know, the oldest questions in the world...". J. Auld

"Our Shared Early Year Map Musings..."

"Who has not spread out a map on the table and felt its promise of places to go and things to do and see... Maps embody a perspective of that which is known, and a perception of that which may be worth knowing." J. Wilford

This seems such a natural time for musings during these early dawning days of a new year. To me, maps are visual metaphors for new ideas...

Maps are more than useful for finding one's direction or sorting out some kind of navigation. Yet they can also reflect a true genesis of creative ideation and imagination. This is pure fuel for our enthusiasm and motivation.

This timing and kind of effort inherently reflects new beginnings and the nature of our 'beginners mind', the ability to see things in new ways and with fresh eyes.

Such new year musings and map reading are all about fresh starts, about things worth wondering over, adventures to ponder about. There is so much fun to be found in the planning of climbs and scrambles to unknown summits, deep canyons to explore, kayaking routes to enjoy, hiking and biking trails to set out upon.

I have always been so intrigued by maps. And believe, as R. Schultheis said, "There are many potential maps of course; physiological, psychological, biochemical, theological, and anthropological." There can be many dimensions to maps; more so than are just apparent on a flat piece of paper.

Especially the exploring, of new places, of ourselves in those places, and of unique perceptions.

These are all means for adventuring.

I have so many maps. Those upon my wall, rolled in protective tubes, old worn folded maps, and those I enjoy discovering while paging through the endless excellent adventure guides to be found out there.

Further to our past years reflections and our early year hopes, map musings re-mind us of what memories we have created and what adventures we wish to have... DSD 

"It Begins Once Again..."

Once again, here and now, in these most precious moments, it all begins...
We truly sense this as we feel the first shift of our packs, as they settle upon our backs, when it begins. Then just before that first step, as we are getting underway, we sense that genesis of such emerging energy as well.
In those initial minutes, those moments of excitement & anticipation where it is all made real, where our adventure is now very much coming into being - it begins.
As our paddles reach for and touch the water, or when our hands first grasp that hiking staff, just as we feel the rock under our fingers and toes, here begins what did not exist before.
In those emerging unknowns, we are shown what will be renewed and then afreshed, coming into bloom like a large new moon, with that original vibrancy and excitement we have all felt before.
When we set out so, with each lovely new sunrise, we look forward to endless possibilities as we commence with our beginnings. Thus each moment among the wild places is born anew, and will wonderfully then transform each of us as well.
When it all begins we further embrace our origins - that essence, the source, for why we are there, for why we started out, and ultimately for why we will also then keep on going.
Then later, during what may seem to be an end to this journey, now instead we see the prelude for what is more truly very likely just the beginning of another amazing adventure. There is nothing more primal than new beginnings.
So once again, this dawning new year, it begins..... DSD 

"Of Embers Within Our New Year..."

When I ponder new beginnings, I also muse over 'embers'...

An 'Ember' is a seabird, well known for its' stamina and long voyages across amazingly distant wild places.

A time to 'ember' is a time for meditation; a time set aside for establishing perspectives.

The 'embers' found within our wild place campfires hold the hopeful potential too for new flame, warmth, and sustenance. There are always live coals still out there and within us adventurers as well. The glimmer of such 'embers' wait for us to rediscover them.

This energy, this source, is a powerful metaphor and can be one of the deepest wellsprings for our feelings of hope - perceptions that say we can trust in our futures, that give cause to possibilities not yet seen.

Adventurers are very familiar with adversity, with the unknown, and thus sense the importance of embering...

Such 'embers' are more cheerful expectations, that we will indeed be inspired once again, that we can believe that moments of trial will certainly pass, that regardless of any such storms, we will most certainly persevere.

These are the many promises to be found within the 'embers of hope' my friends.

We are all adventurers in such times as we share in, when embracing this early year.

The new fire that will assuredly take flame from such embers allows us to see beyond any kind of darkness.

The new horizons we will then see more clearly have always been there; they are just sometimes hidden from us.

All waiting for us, to find and fuel the embers of our shared hopefulness, and our adventure spirit..... DSD