"Like Zen Koans..."

 

"If you try too hard, adventures themselves become like Zen Koans - puzzles which slip away the more you try to solve them. Like water that slips through your fingers the harder you attempt to grasp it...".  Anon

"If You Wish To See..."

 

"If you wish to see the valleys, climb to the mountain top. If you desire to see the mountain top, rise into the cloud. But if you seek to understand the cloud, close your eyes and think...".  K. Gibran

"Farther Magic..."

"It was indeed magic to find that the initial commitment and inner strength can bring you back down alive in the midst of such an undertaking...".  J. Waterman

"Waiting To Be Awakened..."

 

"What made it incredibly tantalizing was that It, the magic, was somewhere inside me. It had always been there... waiting to be awakened...".  R. Schultheis
Dedicated to all those who will be enjoying their first Outward Bound course this year.

"Waiting For A Gift..."

 

"One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach - waiting for a gift from the sea...".  A. Lindbergh

"Harder For The Fun Of It..."

"We adventurers are a unique group in that we make things harder for the fun of it...".  Mountain Guide

"We Might Wonder..."

 

"Yet another burned area presents itself further along the trail with many a scorched tree still standing, very likely to live on through many more thunderstorms. But one dead tree... seems to have stood in the ground through many revolutions of the earth... Its bark peeling away exposing its wood to the elements. While the sides of the dead fir are charred, its upper urface is smooth, bleached to a uniform grey, and as inviting to an artist as a chalkboard. He takes a piece of charcoal in hand and sketches a woman's face, not in bold outline, but subtly, with shadings and blurred features, so that an unsuspecting hiker coming upon it later might wonder if Mother Nature hadn't drawn the image herself...".  M. Mardon

"Adventurous Axioms..."

I found a descriptive truth high upon a mountain...
Where that summit also shared even more about this sublty amazing promise.
Then a further quiet truth was later discovered as well too.
In a far desert canyon, so very deep and dark.
On an ancient trail these beliefs were genuinely proven.
Through honour, virtue, and encoureagement positively given.
This same truth was revealed yet once more again.
Among distant islands embraced by a trustful ocean.
There are many truisms we adventurers surely uncover.
Such trustworthy maxims and associations that simply cannot be denied.
Our own truths become known in so many ways.
Seemingly hidden until that real trust is finally made.
Then, when, wandering further and onward, amidst each and every step.
With such enduring hearts, beliefs, spirit, commitmment & dedication - our journey for truths then actually becomes revealed and never forgotten..... DSD

"Remember....."

 

"Remember... The dream that comes true in mid ocean or at the dry waterhole or on black ice; the animal that appears at the precise and empty instant you need it to whisper in your ear...". R. Schultheis

"The Simple Intuitive Answer..."

 

"Everything that is, everything I am, is now colored by the fact that I have reached this special place. The summit - for the time being at least - is the simple intuitive answer to the enigma of life...".  R. Messner

"Three Great Elemental Sounds..."

"The three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, the sound of wind in a primeval wood, and the sound of the outer ocean on a beach...".  H. Beston

"A World Apart..."

 

"Climbing is a path of approach to a world apart...".  J. Lowe

"Your Wild Spirit..."

 

"Create your wild spirit and then be true to this... You are a Storm Rider with the soul of a Trail Dancer...".  Grandfather, Mountain Elder

"Intimate And Mystical..."

"Wilderness experience is intimate and mystical...".  A. Adams

"Oh, To Plan And Ponder..."

 

Oh, to plan and ponder, then to also intently wander.
What will these seasons gently bring.
What gifts will be discovered way out there.
Who will we then meet upon our trails.
Whom will we honour with our efforts...
Oh, to plan and ponder, then when also far to wander.
Among the valleys and mountains of our dreams.
Along those coastlines reflecting of our visions.
Through the distant deserts and canyons too.
Such amazing adventurous embracing quests we will surely find...
Oh, to plan and ponder, then to stand in awe and wonder.
Upon an elusive summit up so very high.
Shared with you yet once again.
The dream now become so real.
Among ancient inspiring rock, snow, and ice...
Oh, to plan and ponder.
Forever moments for us to endlessly wander..... DSD 

Dedicated this adventure season to all those wonderful wanderers who are Adventuring For Another Reason... 

"On The Highest Mountain..."

"Then I was standing on the highest mountain of them all, and round about beneath me was the whole hoop of the world. And while I stood there I saw more than I can tell and I understood more than I saw...". Black Elk

"From The Lands Of If And When..."

 

Today I find myself musing now over a still evolving interpretation, about perspectives introduced to us so long ago on our Outward Bound Courses.
At times out there, we each ponder, how our tired eyes only appear to see - that if this or that happens, we might then get through.
Our exhuasted muscles seem to feel too, that when we finally get it all in place - then we might be able to rest.
Our weary spirit is led astray as well, for we might cling to beliefs that if only the conditions were right, and when everything works just so - then we will eventually attain that so elusive and perfect summit.
But only being among the lands of if & when, are like trying to traverse endless forests or desert. There we find ourselves navigating through mists and mirages, in order to climb what we finally discover was an illusion all along.
In the lands of if & when are countless false summits, and amidst those aimless traversings out there are also endless false promises.
If we endure and journey far enough, as we stay the course and keep on even further, then we become one of those wanderers who have made their way - from the land of if & when - to the true terrain of here and now...
This meaningful terrain we eventually discover, especially upon the paths of our adventures, that the real trails are right 'here', and the true north star reflecting out is actually 'now'.
So, we adventurers keep on journeying, on a quest even farther, from those misty lands of if & when, across to the adventure terrain of 'here and now', and what wonderful, awe inspiring gifts we always uncover all along the way..... DSD  

"Listen..."

 

"Listen... Listen to the songs of the mountains, the songs of the forests and the river... Then listen more closely; for you may see that it is you that has been singing...". Grandfather, Mountain Elder

"Eternity..."

"On this sun-consumed rock pile, eternity is trying to speak - no, sing to me...".  R. Schultheis

"Your Perfect Rock..."

 

"Find your perfect rock - the one that will give you peace and rest...".  C. Castaneda