Early on in Outward Bound, in later years during multi-day treks, and still now when wandering the waters I take out a small moisture resistant ditty bag, and uncover yet another small journal.
Those blank pages have always seemed inviting to me.
Like the tide, I never know just what will turn up. I often wonder what unknowns, what sorts of secrets will appear through these written musings.
Mapping our journeys in this way through the use of a personal adventure journal has many, many benefits.
There is a real potency in the simple use out there of pencil and paper.
Seemingly simple words can resonate with an energy; much as any warm campfire...
There are many styles of journal writing we can utilize when wandering: Writing backwards is great for the memory; while writing forwards is a powerful enhancement to ideas about future adventures and our commitment towards them.
Our memories can be sieve like at times; but the written word, even drawings and symbols representing our experiences, are not. There is no perfect format to follow; no index to use. Any individual style is really up to you. Often many of us will include other items along with our words: Souvenirs, memento's, and drawings all can be symbols that remind us and tell stories from out there in ways that words alone may not speak to.
Such a record, in a personal journal, is not a map we purchase and follow, but one we create as we actually go along...
After years of use, it becomes such a familiar piece of gear.
Many times the dreams of where we want to go next out there are from a cherished awareness of where we each have been.
Such an adventure journal can, over time, become a treasure for each of us, as valuable as any of the other essentials. Most keep such writing to themselves although I recall a shared journal we also used on Outward Bound with very fond memories.
The endowment of words you map for yourself in this way Dear Finders, will become a journey in itself, and a wild place legacy like no other..... DSD
No comments:
Post a Comment