Sunday, April 29, 2018

"Drums In The Distance..."

I think they have always been there.
These 'drums in the distance'.
Drumming has always been a very moving music for me to listen closely to. Those endless varied beats reflect our pulse it seems, the rhythms our pacing, and its' engagement our excitement.
So when I dream, ponder, and muse; then especially as I train, plan, and prepare - I often hear them building. These resounding drums in the distance.
The farther we go, the more clear they begin to feel.
The higher we climb, the more they resonate so strongly.
The longer distance we cover, the more distinct this music evolves.
The harder the experience we endure, the more pronounced the moving memories become.
I know I am not the only one who has sensed them..
There are many others who nod their heads, and slowly smile, when we quietly discuss hearing such music amidst our shared inspirations.
These drums in the distance echo off the highest mountains, within those endless ocean waves, from across the tallest desert towers and deepest canyon walls, even from beyond the farthest northern lakes.
These distant drums particularly resound from the long awaited anticipations, the real excitements, the epiphanies & wonders, and the unfolding awe we experience when beginning, and then enjoying, our journeys far out there.
The pulsing is really an inner music we know. The beat reverberating from our own hearts and songs.
But they are always there.
Never really silent.
Those slowly building, powerfully resonating, rhythmically feeling, forever echoing - our drums in the distance..... DSD 

Saturday, April 21, 2018

"Calculus..."

Musae, Movere, Ignis. Significatio, Elementi, Vita. Ignis, Ubi, Natura... Nine words of Latin. Written on some parchment. Found in an old register. Upon an elusive summit. It seems the interpretation though, is now up to each of us. Calculus...  DSD  

Friday, April 20, 2018

"Just One Stone..."


"If I am hiking along a ridge with my mind somewhere else, then the rocks and grasses between my feet are just rocks and grasses. But if I am mindful, curious, and observant enough to stoop down and pick up just one stone because it has an unusual shape, then it becomes magic, not just for me but for everyone around me... If I go one step further and grind up some pigments to make ochre dyes, paint the stone lovingly, and set it on the mantle as a reminder of this hike, then the magic has become a prayer for the survival of my tribe...".  J. Turk

Thursday, April 19, 2018

"Our Adventure Fascinations..."

"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 

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

"Right Where We Are At..."

This is true, regardless of wherever on our maps we begin, or whenever we finally set out on those paths. However we start, full of anticipations & excitement, possibly a touch of doubt or anxiousness, maybe even wanting to leave behind some of the distractions from back here, and surely seeking out fun & freedoms out there.
Wherever, whenever, however - the trail always meets us right exactly where we are at.
This is not only a profoundly simple metaphor we mused over back on Outward Bound, nor only some kind of symbolism we have pondered over longer years since. For whatever adventures we choose to embark upon, we each can always be assured of the endlessly hospitable invitations of the wild places. These are our very own quiet accepting callings from far away.
The consistent greetings from the wind are always there. The embracements of both sun and moon forever present. The close connections around our campfires are truly lasting. Then there are the welcoming affections from the waters, the stone itself, and from all the elements then blending together.
The reception we are given, the genuine greetings always made, are the ways wherein the wild places truly make us feel at peace and at home out there.
What initially may only seem like terrain under our boots, becomes depths of emotion and such lasting memories, reflecting the experiences of every unfolding step thereafter.
Oh, the trail does indeed always meet us just exactly where we are at, and forever gladly received do we then forever feel..... DSD

Sunday, April 15, 2018

"Far More Important..."

"That first flash of imagination, those first, simple ideas of the mountains - perfect snow pyramids, glistening with sunlight in rarified air. That is the true form of these mountains; not only their physical manifestations, but their metaphysical truths...
It is the thing not seen, known only by its effects.
Untraceable on maps, but far more important.
Like clouds, like love, like gravity...".   J. Auld

Saturday, April 14, 2018

"Out Beyond..."

Out beyond those so very distant waters.
Higher still on the other side of our mountains.
So deep within those quietly welcoming canyons.
Near to the beginning headwaters of that raging river.
Also upon the far shores of our calming coastal islands.

Out beyond what we believe we know.
Further than all of our prior experiences suggest.
Way beyond what only we have think we have seen.
Farther too than our prior perceptions have taken us.

Out beyond.
Are all of our adventurous life mysteries.
So much elusive beauty.
So many hidden wonders.
There rests many truths we hope to ponder.
Out there awaiting each one of us my Friends.
Simply out beyond..... DSD

In appreciation for Outward Bound.  

Sunday, April 08, 2018

"Countless..."

During countless adventure experiences have I mused about the nature of timelessness out within our wanderings.
Under many millions of stars have I then gazed up, dreamed about such journeys that we share in, and envisioned how we each then discover more within than ever first realized, thanks to Outward Bound.
I reflected too upon those hundreds of thousands of storms which have surely polished these kinds of stones which I seek for you my Friends, with that weather's powerful energy, and all those winds, snow, and rain.
About the tens of thousands of individual steps we take out there, where each and every one is a joy, while moving ourselves further among the wild places.
Also in how easily a thousand thoughts have been formed and focused up high, like the plans & preparation I make for an adventure such as on that day. Those ponderings within the excited enthusiasm and anticipations we all have, that take each of us so much further.
I reflect too over a hundred days and nights on other trips gone by, bringing me finally to be at very high place on the map. 
About the many valleys and trails, hikes and climbs over the years, which can now be seen as actual directions eventually leading right where we each are now..
I muse as well about a very dozen mountains, embraced by such beautiful vistas, all where many climbs have taken place - such wonderous times upon those so special peaks.
Then to a single summit, upon a unique high point, where I composed these simple words, while having gathered up some small touchstones for you Dear Finders. 
Then as I descended with the sunset, a million stars will begin to shyly shine far away on the horizon once more. All enlightening the journey to here and now. 
These are the forever moments that unfold within our adventures Dear Friends.
Those truly endless memories that we so enjoy, smiling about them time & time again, and always then sharing them in our stories with one another..... DSD 
Dedicated this adventure season to those who Adventure For Another Reason .

Friday, April 06, 2018

"Stand Out Like Stone..."

"Life is mostly froth and bubble.
Two things stand out like stone.
Kindness in another's troubles.
Courage in your own..."  
A. Lindsay

Wednesday, April 04, 2018

"Adventure As A Poem..."


“Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul...".  W. Maugham
"A work of art is above all an adventure of the mind...".  E. Lonesco

The substance of our adventures,
And the echoes of a poem,
How very much alike,
They feel so much to be.

The elements of adventures,
And the essence of many poems,
Far away they always take us,
How much then will we see.

A life among adventures,
The feelings within a poem,
Experiences we reach with hope towards,
Understandings that then embrace us too.

Truly they are one and the same,
So wonderfully similar they always are,
The adventuring of shared perceptions,
The poetry of our forever wanderings..... DSD

Dedicated this adventure day to all those 'Artists of Being Alive' who continue to Adventure For Another Reason.      

Monday, April 02, 2018

"The Compass Rose..."


The Compass Rose is often described as an ancient navigational symbol; a figure of direction; and a mandala for Adventurers.
It can be seen in so many forms, like on my Outward Bound pins which I am gazing upon at this moment. Countless references can be found in readings and stories that reflect on the historical values of its use; and in the meanings and analogies for compasses.
The Compass Roses' age old perspectives re-minds me to see adventure experiences through 'long term eyes'.
There are powerful metaphors and depth of meaning in well applying concepts of navigation and direction within our outdoor lives, and not just in the most practical sense of finding our way.
This image of a Rose within the Compass holds mystery too in allowing us to set an unknown but intentional course over lands and waters previously only dreamed about, and do we not all simply love that.
We have owned many compasses over the years, and still have them all.
I enjoy discovering the Rose as the key placed upon antique maps, which displays the skill of the artist, and have often been put there for luck, especially when the world was uncharted as it is now.
I've often painted elements of the Compass Rose on these small Summit Stones under mountains and oceans, to capture a sense of their essence.
If only a hidden one.
Some of the very first Summit Stones were only the painted face of a Compass. Now many have North, South, East, and West woven into the lines of paint on mountains.
I remember... Finding a Compass Rose carved into a large piece of driftwood just off Quadra Island.
I recall... a passage from a book in my youth, whose Author wrote:
"Under the rock was the rose of a compass that was not supposed to be there, carved as clearly into the stone as if etched that very day. If done by the hand of a mason or the elements I could not tell".
We each truly love the sense of mystery that accompanies the Compass Rose.
I believe that while Maps carry promises...
Compasses show us one way to fulfill these... DSD

Sunday, April 01, 2018

"Look At Where We Are Now..."

We shall not cease from exploration, and at the end of all exploring, will be to arrive where we started, and know the place for the first time...". T.S. Eliot
On Outward Bound, on those many adventures, and over all these long wonderfully full years, we all have shared in learning more - regarding what the mountains, the forests, the oceans, and the canyons are all really about.
On Outward Bound, through such adventures, over these endlessly amazing seasons, we then also share in the knowledge too about who we are truly becoming as we are out wandering.
For as we learn so much about all of what is out there,
then we discover as well that there is so much more within each of us than ever first realized.
For as Henry miller wrote too: "Our destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things...".
From musings while gazing back upon where we each started .
Look at where we are now..... DSD