As part of our preparation each week, the Boys Explorers Club mentors write an outline for each outing. The process helps us connect with the boys with whom we’ll be working and consider the unique possibilities of the place into which we’re venturing.
Underlying the games, the conflicts, the cuts and scrapes we inevitably experience are the lessons the boys, and the mentors, learn on and from the land. Our club mottos express what we hope the boys will take away from their club experience. Therefore, a key element of the outline is the Guiding Mottos we select for the outing. For our Teddy Bear Cove traverse on the 29th, our mottos were the following:
* The map is not the territory,
* It’s about the journey, not the destination (we are where we are going),
* The only way out is through, and
* Expect the unexpected.
So let’s examine each of these mottos in light of Sunday’s exciting outing. My hope is that this reflection will provide insight into what we do out there, how we do it, and, most important, why we do it.
“The map is not the territory.” Maps and other tools for helping us find our way (compass, GPS, etc.) provide great reference points for us to use as part of our analysis of where we are and where we should go from that point. However, too much reliance on the tools at the expense of one’s innate awareness of the land can result in unfavorable outcomes. Example: a colleague and I were in Arizona on a business trip and relying on the rental car’s GPS to get us to our meeting. However, the software was unaware of the construction project that prevented us from getting on the freeway we needed. Without that access, we were hopelessly lost and the GPS was similarly frustrated. It was only when we turned it off and problem solved our way out of our predicament that we were able to find our way to the meeting place, albeit somewhat tardy. So, we use the tools to augment our own ability to listen to the land and navigate based on our understanding of fundamental constructs such as the position of the sun in the sky at 2:00 pm on a late March day. On this late March day, we first navigated across “uncharted” (for us) territory using our wits. Then, we checked the map to better understand where we had been. The photo galleryfor the outing captures that moment pretty well.
“It’s about the journey, not the destination (we are where we are going)” Our greatest challenge on this hike came shortly after we began bushwhacking through moss-covered logs, slippery rocks, muddy soil and - all together now - devil’s club! We were in never-developed light forest and moving along a hillside without a trail in sight. I anticipated the boys would fan out and find their own way, but we largely proceeded in a single file. That alignment told me several of the boys were feeling overmatched by the terrain. It’s at moments like this that you notice leadership emerging in an explorer who steps to the front or group cohesion happening through peer support or confidence growing as the boys adapt to the land and continue to work their way through the challenge before them. Destinations are fine. In fact, it was high fives all around when we emerged out of our bushwhacking adventure. But the action happens in the test. The Raccoon Kits passed this test and I anticipate they’ll be stronger individually
and as a group as a result.
“The only way out is through” Sometimes we face really challenging internal and external obstacles. Often the best way out of the stuck place is to not go around it, or walk away from it, but to go through it, to the other side. This requires perseverance, which is "the hard work you do when you get tired of the hard work you already did." “Most of our obstacles would melt away if instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them.” O. Marden (Alright, you got me...lifted from the Wild Whatcom mottos page.) Our physical test on this hike was matched by the psychological and emotional challenge many explorers faced when we were high-stepping over natural obstacles and dodging devil’s club.
“Expect the unexpected” Brian and Peter told them it would be tough, but who amongst us hasn’t underestimated the task upon hearing it described?Confucius is credited with saying, “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” These boys now understand their capabilities a little better.
Interestingly, we never made it to Teddy Bear Cove on Saturday. We played games, overcame challenges, collaborated with our peers and wore ourselves out, but we never made it to the water. Does that mean we didn’t achieve our objectives for the day? On the contrary, this Teddy Bear Cove-less day was a smashing success!
Underlying the games, the conflicts, the cuts and scrapes we inevitably experience are the lessons the boys, and the mentors, learn on and from the land. Our club mottos express what we hope the boys will take away from their club experience. Therefore, a key element of the outline is the Guiding Mottos we select for the outing. For our Teddy Bear Cove traverse on the 29th, our mottos were the following:
* The map is not the territory,
* It’s about the journey, not the destination (we are where we are going),
* The only way out is through, and
* Expect the unexpected.
So let’s examine each of these mottos in light of Sunday’s exciting outing. My hope is that this reflection will provide insight into what we do out there, how we do it, and, most important, why we do it.“The map is not the territory.” Maps and other tools for helping us find our way (compass, GPS, etc.) provide great reference points for us to use as part of our analysis of where we are and where we should go from that point. However, too much reliance on the tools at the expense of one’s innate awareness of the land can result in unfavorable outcomes. Example: a colleague and I were in Arizona on a business trip and relying on the rental car’s GPS to get us to our meeting. However, the software was unaware of the construction project that prevented us from getting on the freeway we needed. Without that access, we were hopelessly lost and the GPS was similarly frustrated. It was only when we turned it off and problem solved our way out of our predicament that we were able to find our way to the meeting place, albeit somewhat tardy. So, we use the tools to augment our own ability to listen to the land and navigate based on our understanding of fundamental constructs such as the position of the sun in the sky at 2:00 pm on a late March day. On this late March day, we first navigated across “uncharted” (for us) territory using our wits. Then, we checked the map to better understand where we had been. The photo galleryfor the outing captures that moment pretty well.
“It’s about the journey, not the destination (we are where we are going)” Our greatest challenge on this hike came shortly after we began bushwhacking through moss-covered logs, slippery rocks, muddy soil and - all together now - devil’s club! We were in never-developed light forest and moving along a hillside without a trail in sight. I anticipated the boys would fan out and find their own way, but we largely proceeded in a single file. That alignment told me several of the boys were feeling overmatched by the terrain. It’s at moments like this that you notice leadership emerging in an explorer who steps to the front or group cohesion happening through peer support or confidence growing as the boys adapt to the land and continue to work their way through the challenge before them. Destinations are fine. In fact, it was high fives all around when we emerged out of our bushwhacking adventure. But the action happens in the test. The Raccoon Kits passed this test and I anticipate they’ll be stronger individually
and as a group as a result.“The only way out is through” Sometimes we face really challenging internal and external obstacles. Often the best way out of the stuck place is to not go around it, or walk away from it, but to go through it, to the other side. This requires perseverance, which is "the hard work you do when you get tired of the hard work you already did." “Most of our obstacles would melt away if instead of cowering before them, we should make up our minds to walk boldly through them.” O. Marden (Alright, you got me...lifted from the Wild Whatcom mottos page.) Our physical test on this hike was matched by the psychological and emotional challenge many explorers faced when we were high-stepping over natural obstacles and dodging devil’s club.
“Expect the unexpected” Brian and Peter told them it would be tough, but who amongst us hasn’t underestimated the task upon hearing it described?Confucius is credited with saying, “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” These boys now understand their capabilities a little better.
Interestingly, we never made it to Teddy Bear Cove on Saturday. We played games, overcame challenges, collaborated with our peers and wore ourselves out, but we never made it to the water. Does that mean we didn’t achieve our objectives for the day? On the contrary, this Teddy Bear Cove-less day was a smashing success!
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