Continuing Adventures of Darkling Thrush

Answering the Summons of the Redwoods

DarklingThrush — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:29:12 GMT

Alan Moore wrote a story in which Swamp Thing is called before "the Parliament of Trees". Today I felt as if I had answered this summons, strolling among the towering ancients in Redwood National Park. Can you even find the little darkling thrush among the Redwood Giants above?

Driving down the Pacific Coast

DarklingThrush — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:26:50 GMT

I've driven the big interstates and many old logging roads and jeep trails. I've driven Route 66. But I think the most scenic highway in the country must be 101 which circles the Olympic Peninsula before heading down the rugged Pacific Coast. Rain forest giants on one side, big rocks and crashing surf on the other... and amazing sunsets over the Pacific Ocean.

In the Valley of the Rainforest Giants

DarklingThrush — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:54:51 GMT

(from 11/2) Found Olympic Hot Springs by moonlight last night. Today I toured the "Valley of the Rainforest Giants" - largest trees in the world outside of California! Tonight I'm driving down the Oregon Coast. Tomorrow... Redwoods.

Changes

DarklingThrush — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 19:43:45 GMT

It's been a while since I was here, keeping up my blog. Almost a year since I posted anything substantive about my experiences, and since this is, in part, my journal, I would like to start again. What a year it has been. I left the Forest Service in 2003 to work with kids, and I've been doing outdoor education ever since, mostly with Outward Bound. In November of last year I led perhaps my best course ever in the Everglades, a co-ed course for troubled teens in which we were accused of having perhaps too much fun. We had a wonderful course culture straight out of Peter Pan. We talked about the lost boys, about how peoples had been getting lost in the Everglades since the days of injuns and pirates, and how no one ever got found until they were ready. We talked about the value of getting lost for a while, of getting away from our real world problems long enough to get some perspective, to remember who we wanted to be if and when we grow up. Our call and response (to get everyone's attention) was "Ahoy mateys!" and "arrrr". We lashed our canoes together and sailed; we made our own floating island and dined under tiki torches; we 'discovered' a wilderness beach where the kids did solo campouts, then welcomed them back with a luau complete with pig and pineapple. As much fun as we had, though, the kids still had their crisis moments - particularly when we told them it was up to them to find our way home! critical moments for their healing and growth. They panicked, they wanted to give up; but when we would not let them they did find their way - together - and in the process they learned that they were stronger than they knew. They were proud of themselves. And during our brief follow up period it seemed to be making a difference. In January of this year I had the honor of leading a very different course, an Outward Bound course for veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars. The course was paid for with a grant from the Sierra Club, and who knows what all the powers-that-be had in mind. But we decided early on that we would let the veterans themselves tell us what they wanted from this experience. We borrowed a line from Johnny Cash at Folsom prison: he told the inmates that the show was being recorded and that he had a whole list of rules about what he could and couldn't say or sing... but that he didn't give a *%^#@ about all that; he was here for the inmates and he wanted to play whatever they wanted to hear. So we kept the 'kumbaya' to a minimum (at the marines' request), and everyday we let marines choose between a lazy float trip or a wild bush-pushing exploration of unknown parts of the swamps. Being recon marines, they chose the adventurous route every time :) I have been paddling those backwater swamps, rivers, and bayous for most of my life, and I got to see spots I had never seen before. Our one obeisance to 'counseling' was an open-ended go-around question over dinner each night. With questions like, "what is the hardest part of your job, and what is your favorite part?", we learned that troops overseas and wilderness instructors have a lot in common - that we all miss loved ones and unstructured relaxation, but that we like to think we are making a difference, at least some of the time. Contrary to some of the stereotypes (and don't we all get painted with stereotypes?), I found these young servicemen to be respectful, humble, crafty, and eager to learn. I could only wish that all the service men and women representing us overseas were such positive examples. The rest of 2009 has been a time of soul-searching and way-finding. I left Outward Bound after that course, and the Boulder Outdoor Survival School had more instructors than students this summer. With the economy in a slump and non-profits struggling, I decided to return to civil service, and have been seeking jobs with the Forest Service and Park Service, among others. I worked this summer for the Forest Service in Westfir, OR (where I am this morning, in a sweet little cafe/coffee shop called the Trailhead). I spent my first eight weeks supervising Youth Conservation Corps crews, so I still got to work with kids. And they liked me enough here in Westfir to keep me on for some trail work, so now I spend my days hiking up to waterfalls and scenic overlooks, surveying bridges and rehabilitating tread, working up a good honest sweat under a canopy of towering firs. Nights I spend in a little out-of-the-way spot off an old logging road. My little truck (I bought a truck! a veteran crafty little truck from my dear friend Glenn) is rigged for sleeping; I have a fire ring to cook over and make coffee in the mornings, a hot springs to soak in, a cold river to rinse in and to keep the beer cold. I'm near an old logging town with a population of 3,000 that has recently become the mountain-biking capital of the country. And Eugene (that organic, all-natural, unshaved hippy mecca) is less than an hour away. I managed to find time to go sailing on Adventuress a time or two, so I'm keeping a hand in with the sailing. And my Green Man tapestry/tattoo may be finished! We are taking a few weeks to decide if it needs any finishing touches. Who knows? where I will go next? It has been a year of changes, and the horizons are wide open.

Life Long Learner

DarklingThrush — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 06:19:15 GMT

You must live in your school. Your house and land you live on must be the school. You are always the teacher and the student. You must do everything possible to educate yourself about life, the world, yourself, and most importantly, the connections between everything. You must have many people visit the school, and much solitude and silence to reflect on things. You must start this school now. It must be your life. - James Neill, 30 June, 2001. http://wilderdom.com/research.php

Every day is a god

DarklingThrush — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:05:15 GMT

Every day is a god, each day is a god, and holiness holds forth in time. I worship each god, I praise each day splintered down, splintered down and wrapped in time like a husk, a husk of many colors spreading, at dawn fast over the mountains split. I wake in a god. I wake in arms holding my quilt, holding me as best they can inside my quilt. Someone is kissing me – already. I wake, I cry “Oh,” I rise from the pillow. Why should I open my eyes? I open my eyes. The god lifts from the water. His head fills the bay. He is Puget Sound, the Pacific; his breast rises from pastures, his fingers are firs; islands slide wet down his shoulders. Islands slip blue from his shoulders and glide over the water, the empty, lighted water like a stage. Today’s god rises, his long eyes flecked in clouds. He flings his arms, spreading colors; he arches, cupping sky in his belly. He vaults, vaulting and spread, holding all and spreading on me like skin. - Annie Dillard (Holy the Firm)

How does it work?

DarklingThrush — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 22:57:12 GMT

I am taking advantage of the economic slowdown to renew work on my Masters Thesis: "On the Nature of Transformative Experience". I am studying the widely varyied approaches used by outdoor ed organizations claiming to offer experiences powerful enough to shake up a person's self-image and core values. I have worked for a few of these organizations (Student Conservation Association, Sound Experience, Outward Bound, Boulder Outdoor Survival School), conducting case studies and focus group interviews. I have also reviewed the literature, of course, although I need to update myself on anything published in the last three years. What are the necessary components of an experience powerful enough to be transformative? If we were to start a new organization for the explicit purpose of inspiring participants to lead lives that are more environmentally responsible, what would be the ideal recipe? What populations should we target? How long should we keep them? What should we have them doing? Also: does anyone know of any recent publications I should consider?

Summer Vacation...

DarklingThrush — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 03:24:48 GMT

...must take a vacation, for now. It has all been so sweet... Started with May and June at the Boulder Outdoor Survival School. My 1st spring in the desert. Completing my apprenticeship. Finally getting my hand drill down. Three wonderful courses. Then happily found my way back onto Adventuress for a week. Tall Ships festival in Tacoma, sailing into the San Juans, helping to train new volunteers in the arts of sailing, sea shanties, and shore leaves. Transforming myself in the process with four more full days of revealing my inner green with tattoo-Picasso 'Little' Bryan Childs in Olympia. This time we finished Pan, complete with wild grapes dangling overhead, ghost orchids on either side, and an Ivory Bill Woodpecker on the tree behind him. Lying on the table, as Bryan colored in Pan's eyes, I could *feel* him coming to life. I closed my eyes and could have sworn that my own legs were furry and backwards-bending goat legs. And now? I look in the mirror and he dances when I dance, breathes when I breathe! Inspired new fantasies of dancing up and down mountains like a goat, playing my flute while I drink sunshine through the clorphyl in my other green tattoos. Capped it all off with an especially blissful weekend at the Hostel in the Forest, making yummy new friends, and reveling in my new satyr energy. It really has been a good break. Which almost makes it surprising that during this break, more than any before, I found myself looking forward to getting back, thinking about how much I love what I do, and looking forward to my next group of kids. And now I'm here! Our students arrived today, and we take charge of them tomorrow. We will be paddling two historic rivers, both originating in the Okefenokee Swamp of southern Georgia. First we'll paddle the St. Marys east to the Atlantic, culminating with an epic mud walk back into base. Then we'll transport to the upper reaches of the Suwannee River. After three days of solo camping, we'll paddle south to the Gulf of Mexico. One more night of freedom, then Darkling Thrush is Outward Bound!

Spring in the Desert

DarklingThrush — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 05:30:22 GMT

What a wonderful time to be in canyon country. The prickly pear is blooming pink and yellow, joined by violet spiderwort, blue lupine, red paintbrush, crimson hedgehog cactus... Finished a 14 day field course last week, and have been enjoying a few mellow days off before doing two courses back-to-back starting this Sunday. Sleeping in, reading ("People of the Fire" by Kathleen and Michael Gear), playing with fire sets and lesson plans, and eating - eating foods rich in fat and protein daily, guilt free, knowing my body knows what it needs come time to hit the trails again. Meanwhile, I've been invited to go sailing again! Seems the Adventuress, a 1913 schooner I sailed as crew on before Outward Bound, is short on deckhands in July, and I've been recruited to help teach sailing, sea shanties, and environmental issues to a bunch of Girl Scouts on a three day outing. HA! That won't be *any* fun at all <G>. I should also get to the boat just in time to catch the end of the Wooden Boat Festival in Tacoma (lots of tall ships, lots of shenanigans), and will stay on board to help with a new crew training the following weekend (another party - got to teach these new sailors to carry on a proper shore leave!). After sailing I'll drop down to Olympia for two more days of revealing my inner green (with tattoo artist extraordinaire 'Little' Bryan Childs), then fly back to Florida to lead another river course for adjudicated boys. And so the migration continues. But first, another three week sojourn in the desert. This time I'm scheduled to teach about finding and treating water, knife use and safety, night vision and night travel, and trail hazards. I also plan to debut my new lesson on weather, and finish a flute song I've been composing for the chickadee. One more day to sing and play, then Darkling Thrush is outward bound!

Slickrock 2008

DarklingThrush — Sun, 25 May 2008 03:50:43 GMT

John Olsen teaching primitive pottery. Greg Nunn teaching flintknapping. Cat Farneman teaching medicinal uses of plants. Dave Holladay topping them all with the antics of his primitive gourdworks class (make that art/music/shenanigans class). Slickrock 2008 was as much fun as it was a chance to learn from some true masters of their crafts. By day we learned and worked on projects, by night we feasted and played and danced and told stories around the fire. I especially enjoyed story time. So many great story tellers, so many old (but new to me) stories... Once the gathering was over and it was back down to just BOSS (Boulder Outdoor Survival School) staff, we returned to getting ready for the season. We talked about where the school has come from and where it is going. We talked about our personal development and goals for the summer. We held competitions for wood carving and fire making. We capped off staff training Thursday with a surprise med rescue simulation. Now we're making final preparations before our first batch of students arrive tomorrow. The others are in the kitchen right now, making 'primitive pizzas' (stone-fired with buffalo, mushrooms, onions, & pepper jack). They feed us so good here, all natural and organic. I've built up my body's reserves, and I'm going to need them. Tomorrow I start a 14-day field course. We'll be covering long miles at high altitude on only about 1500 calories/day. The first two days ('Impact Phase') will be even more challenging - we'll carry no food and eat only what we find. After that we'll get the 'luxuries' of a few oats, rice and lentils each day - and a wool blanket! Wool blankets are nice at this altitude, even in summer. It actually snowed some here this week! So far I know I'll be responsible for our lessons on survival attitude & priorities, bow-drill fires, primitive shelters, crypto-biotic soils, and making cordage from plants. I'm also helping to develop new lessons on weather watching and celestial navigation. Tonight we eat, drink, and make merry. Tomorrow, Darkling Thrush is outward bound!

Paths of Learning

DarklingThrush — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:14:36 GMT

Spent the last three days on staff retreat with the Boulder Outdoor Survival School. Hiked down Little Death Hollow to the Escalante River where we camped on a sand bar the first night. Started our fire with a fire plow, sage on sage, all of us taking turns until we got that hot ember. My first time using a fire plow! Next morning we climbed a massive mound of soft sand over 100' high to exit the canyon, made our way over hot and dry slick rock till we found the "Moki Steps" - an old native path down into Harris Wash. Had a fun moment while my fellow instructors were passing pack and sliding down a sketchy slope. While waiting my turn, I asked if anyone had looked around to make sure this was the best route - they hadn't. So I looked around myself and found a series of man-made steps chiseled into the rock just 100' away. Not sure how old those steps are, but there was a very cool cave half way down that had obviously been lived in. And a whole series of caves (one containing an old Anasazi millinery dating back at least 1,000 years) all along the creek below. We hiked up the creek to camp in a huge cave near a (delicious cool) spring, exhausted from a 20 mile day. On day three we hiked up and over Red Breaks, more soft sand and slick rock, narrowly avoiding a big thunderstorm that pushed us around with stiff winds and flashed lightning in the distance. We limped back onto the school property, where we were surprised with a huge dinner of barbecue pork ribs, scalloped potatoes, salad, steamed veggies, and apple cobbler. And Josh Bernstein! Of "Digging for the Truth" and "Into the Unknown" fame. He is the school's owner, and this was my first time to meet him. He brought along a genuine Mongol 100# hunting bow from the show he just filmed for the Discovery Channel. Next week we host the Slickrock Gathering, a week long celebration of primitive skills. I am down to learn/help with the primitive pottery path. Others will focus on gourds, flint napping, and wild plants. We will be joined by some of the last true masters of these skills, so even for the staff here at BOSS this will be a learning opportunity. There are so many learning paths I could travel during my time off from Outward Bound. But learning these old skills, becoming comfortable with less, learning to dance in harmony with the wilds... calls to me right now. Good simple food. Good honest tired. Good colorful friends to hang out with. And some of the most beautiful country anywhere to enjoy it all in.

Joy & Shenanigans

DarklingThrush — Sun, 04 May 2008 18:28:00 GMT

Traveled through Oly-town on my way to Utah, and spent two days with my artist, Little Bryan. We colored in the scene around Swamp Thing (pics soon, I promise), and got a start on Pan (Greek god of wild nature, mischief, and fertility). In this Green tattooed tapestry, Pan will represent joy & shenanigans.

G950 "Warrior Princesses"

DarklingThrush — Sun, 04 May 2008 16:43:34 GMT

Seven adjudicated girls. Two female co-instructors. I was surrounded for 30 days. Oh the DRAMA! Several of these girls arrived with histories of abuse. Few had had the luxury of growing up feeling that the world was a safe place. Some also had histories of substance abuse. Most had issues with self-esteem. This all added up to a tough group of girls who had difficulty trusting, difficulty separating the subjective risks we were presenting from the very real traumas in their past, difficulty believing they could be successful in overcoming these challenges. It also made for incredible highs when their trust was rewarded with healthy supportive relationships both with staff and their peers. When they were able to face down their fears, and accomplish things they thought were impossible (paddling 30+ miles in a day, exploring new islands in the dark, portaging all their gear through 200' of waist-deep mud...) Oh the TEARS! Tears of fear, tears of relief, tears of triumph, tears of joy... Oh the SCREAMS! Lol. These girls screamed a lot. Especially around spiders. We had girls - who couldn't swim, mind you - jumping out of their boats into the river to avoid spiders. And when their canoes approached overhanging trees? Trees that they just knew were full of spiders and snakes and all things deadly? Their tactic of choice was to throw down their paddles and scream at the canoe to go a different direction. Very interesting. Very noisy. Wears on the nerves, after a while. Oh the Warm Fuzzies... I actually had to leave this course right after getting the girls off the river. They had changed the course dates on me, and I already had air travel booked to head west for my summer adventures. So I missed the service day at a local soup kitchen, the high ropes course, and the personal challenge event (a 7.6 mile run). Some of the girls were pretty upset with me when they found out I was leaving. But they surprised me on that last morning with some amazing home-made cards. Made my day. My season, even. Maybe they will brighten yours: ******* To: Mr. Jim I'm VERY SAD you are going away but I know I can't do anything about it but keep my memories of what we did, and how strong you made me become and I thank you for that. From: ---- ps Thanks Going to keep you in my mind & prayers ******* Mr. Jim, Thank you Mr. Jim for always being you, For being there when I needed you, For giving and giving without a reprieve, For giving me someone to trust and believe. You gave me your shoulder, your ear, and your heart, And by this you kept me from giving up. You shared with me some of your wisdom and myrth, And made me feel like some one of worth Because you were there I will always be grateful, Ad because you're my friend, I will always be thankful. Luv ya, ---- ps I will miss you dearly ******* 2A special person *As life travel* We make and meet new friends. and even though the friends may go, the friends never ends. That's how it is with you, you gave me a fresh start. You gave me vision, you gave me hope, you touched and healed my heart. You gave me strength to do the things you knew that I could do. You inspired me in so many ways I can't begin to repay you. You're always there when I needed you most. Somehow you seem to know. And that is why I hope and pray Our friendship continues to grow. Love, ---- ps I will miss U!!!! Take care. ******* Mr. Jim I will miss you, I will always think about you. ******* Hey Mr. Jim I'm very very mad you leaving us tomorrow morning. Everybody feels sad. Well any way we still gonna call you and ask you how you doing and stuff. I hope we get to see you again and always remember how you get us going and always remember your Warrior Princesses. I will miss you Mr. Jim ----

House of Healing

DarklingThrush — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:31:35 GMT

Everything feels different here. I needed this. Re-centering. Re-grounding. "Remembering who I wanted to be." I showed up just hoping there was room. A lovely new staff member, possibly sensing my need, invited me to join the (already crowded) full moon sweat lodge. I prayed to Ray ("everyone is saa-ad and lonely"), to Rumi (we are all reed flutes calling out for return to the one), to Hafiz ("Why not become the one who lives with a full moon in each eye that is always saying, with that sweet moon language, what every other eye in this world is dying to hear?"), and to Michael Franti ("is your love enough, or could you love some more?"). I prayed to live life with fearless humility, compassion, and joy. I prayed to role model not attaching conditions to my happiness, because beautiful things are happening all around us all the time and life is pretty damn good, when you let it be. And I gave thanks. Thanks for having a life full of travel and adventure. Thanks for having found work that I love, and that I am (at least occasionally) very good at. Thanks for those who challenge me, who inspire me to grow. And thanks for those who thank me, who give me the occasional pat on the back, letting me feel appreciated so that I have the energy to do it all over again. I saw myself as a child climbing trees and looking toward wide horizons, feeling free and limitless possibilities... We sweated till we were light headed, then made a run for the lake, muddy naked butts running wild through the forest. We swam and laughed and made our way back to the domes for a home-grown feast, followed by music and dancing around the fire. I fell asleep on the couch in the common room. Someone dimmed the lights. Someone else brought me a blanket and tucked me in. People tip-toed by so as not to wake me up. Today I cooked up a big pan of hash browns to share with everyone. I savored a hot outdoor shower, then went out to the lake with Rumi and a hula hoop. I ran and I swam and swung in a tree swing. And I remembered! the green flowing me I wanted to be! The me who's too busy reveling in all the wonders around for sharing to ever waste time worrying about what he wants but doesn't have. And I got happy again. Life is good, when you let it be.

The Onion's Finest Moment

DarklingThrush — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 02:47:52 GMT

Came across this again recently, from their September 2001 "Holy Fucking Shit" issue. Sad thing is, it feels as relevant today as it did then, and the century before that, and the century before that... ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ God Angrily Clarifies 'Don't Kill' Rule ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28151 NEW YORK—Responding to recent events on Earth, God, the omniscient creator-deity worshipped by billions of followers of various faiths for more than 6,000 years, angrily clarified His longtime stance against humans killing each other Monday. "Look, I don't know, maybe I haven't made myself completely clear, so for the record, here it is again," said the Lord, His divine face betraying visible emotion during a press conference near the site of the fallen Twin Towers. "Somehow, people keep coming up with the idea that I want them to kill their neighbor. Well, I don't. And to be honest, I'm really getting sick and tired of it. Get it straight. Not only do I not want anybody to kill anyone, but I specifically commanded you not to, in really simple terms that anybody ought to be able to understand." Worshipped by Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike, God said His name has been invoked countless times over the centuries as a reason to kill in what He called "an unending cycle of violence." "I don't care how holy somebody claims to be," God said. "If a person tells you it's My will that they kill someone, they're wrong. Got it? I don't care what religion you are, or who you think your enemy is, here it is one more time: No killing, in My name or anyone else's, ever again." The press conference came as a surprise to humankind, as God rarely intervenes in earthly affairs. As a matter of longstanding policy, He has traditionally left the task of interpreting His message and divine will to clerics, rabbis, priests, imams, and Biblical scholars. Theologians and laymen alike have been given the task of pondering His ineffable mysteries, deciding for themselves what to do as a matter of faith. His decision to manifest on the material plane was motivated by the deep sense of shock, outrage, and sorrow He felt over the Sept. 11 violence carried out in His name, and over its dire potential ramifications around the globe. "I tried to put it in the simplest possible terms for you people, so you'd get it straight, because I thought it was pretty important," said God, called Yahweh and Allah respectively in the Judaic and Muslim traditions. "I guess I figured I'd left no real room for confusion after putting it in a four-word sentence with one-syllable words, on the tablets I gave to Moses. How much more clear can I get?" "But somehow, it all gets twisted around and, next thing you know, somebody's spouting off some nonsense about, 'God says I have to kill this guy, God wants me to kill that guy, it's God's will,'" God continued. "It's not God's will, all right? News flash: 'God's will' equals 'Don't murder people.'" Worse yet, many of the worst violators claim that their actions are justified by passages in the Bible, Torah, and Qur'an. "To be honest, there's some contradictory stuff in there, okay?" God said. "So I can see how it could be pretty misleading. I admit it—My bad. I did My best to inspire them, but a lot of imperfect human agents have misinterpreted My message over the millennia. Frankly, much of the material that got in there is dogmatic, doctrinal bullshit. I turn My head for a second and, suddenly, all this stuff about homosexuality gets into Leviticus, and everybody thinks it's God's will to kill gays. It absolutely drives Me up the wall." God praised the overwhelming majority of His Muslim followers as "wonderful, pious people," calling the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks rare exceptions. "This whole medieval concept of the jihad, or holy war, had all but vanished from the Muslim world in, like, the 10th century, and with good reason," God said. "There's no such thing as a holy war, only unholy ones. The vast majority of Muslims in this world reject the murderous actions of these radical extremists, just like the vast majority of Christians in America are pissed off over those two bigots on The 700 Club." Continued God, "Read the book: 'Allah is kind, Allah is beautiful, Allah is merciful.' It goes on and on that way, page after page. But, no, some assholes have to come along and revive this stupid holy-war crap just to further their own hateful agenda. So now, everybody thinks Muslims are all murderous barbarians. Thanks, Taliban: 1,000 years of pan-Islamic cultural progress down the drain." God stressed that His remarks were not directed exclusively at Islamic extremists, but rather at anyone whose ideological zealotry overrides his or her ability to comprehend the core message of all world religions. "I don't care what faith you are, everybody's been making this same mistake since the dawn of time," God said. "The Muslims massacre the Hindus, the Hindus massacre the Muslims. The Buddhists, everybody massacres the Buddhists. The Jews, don't even get me started on the hardline, right-wing, Meir Kahane-loving Israeli nationalists, man. And the Christians? You people believe in a Messiah who says, 'Turn the other cheek,' but you've been killing everybody you can get your hands on since the Crusades." Growing increasingly wrathful, God continued: "Can't you people see? What are you, morons? There are a ton of different religious traditions out there, and different cultures worship Me in different ways. But the basic message is always the same: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Shintoism... every religious belief system under the sun, they all say you're supposed to love your neighbors, folks! It's not that hard a concept to grasp." "Why would you think I'd want anything else? Humans don't need religion or God as an excuse to kill each other—you've been doing that without any help from Me since you were freaking apes!" God said. "The whole point of believing in God is to have a higher standard of behavior. How obvious can you get?" "I'm talking to all of you, here!" continued God, His voice rising to a shout. "Do you hear Me? I don't want you to kill anybody. I'm against it, across the board. How many times do I have to say it? Don't kill each other anymore—ever! I'm fucking serious!" Upon completing His outburst, God fell silent, standing quietly at the podium for several moments. Then, witnesses reported, God's shoulders began to shake, and He wept.

Clinical First Responder

DarklingThrush — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 03:47:13 GMT

Paddle out of the Everglades one day, send students home to their parents the next, and then get on a plane and fly to Salt Lake City, where it's... snowing. Just 24 hours removed from the swamp, I'm standing there in my chacos and utilikilt, and it's snowing... The training was great. Clinical First Responder is billed as being to mental health issues what Wilderness First Responder is to medical issues. Our trainers were competent, passionate, and brought a wealth of experience to the training, including decades in the field as instructors. The training covered everything from an overview of the mental health industry and where wilderness therapy fit into that picture, to stages of adolescent brain development and common adolescent diagnoses, to a comparison and contrast of treatment modalities, to self-care and avoiding burnout. Among the gems I picked up are: - Whatever the problem, the answer is RELATIONSHIP. The healthy relationships we role model and establish with our students are the most important thing we do for them. - When in doubt, LAV (listen, acknowledge, validate). LAV without an agenda. LAV to establish involvement. LAV until a student feels heard. LAVing well will make everything els you do more effective. - Collaborative Problem Solving (see http://www.explosivechild.com/cpssentials/index.html) Assumes that problem behaviors result from students struggling to meet needs due to lagging cognitive skills, and that the best way to help them learn new behaviors is to teach them the problem solving skills they lack. Step One: Empathy/Reassurance - show the student that you understand their concern and that you are not going to just force a solution upon them. Step Two: Identify the Problem - identify the parent/instructor's concern on the same issue, and clarify the needs of both parties. Step Three: Invitation - invite the student to help brainstorm solutions that will meet the needs of all parties involved. Collaborative Problem Solving dovetails nicely with other course tools we teach (Concern & Request, What's up?/Ownership/Moccasins/Plan), but brings something new that I think will make a nice addition to my future courses. - Sports metaphor for timeouts: Q) When does a team take a timeout? A) When they see the first warning signs that things are going wrong, before it's out of hand and they've lost the game. Q) Do the players just walk off the court when they need a timeout? A) No, they tell the ref. Q) Where do they go? A) To their own bench, away from the other team. Q) What's the first thing they do? A) Self-care: water, towel off, take a deep breath, calm down. Q) Then what? A) Make a plan to turn things around. Q) And finally? Do they just sneak out and get on the bus? A) No! They get back in the game! Quotes: "I never met a student who seemed worse in person than they had on paper." (client files typically focus on their problems, and not their successes). "Worry must be pretty effective, because nothing I worry about ever seems to happen." - Will Rogers "The only way to be fair is to treat every student according to what they need." (every student is different, and deserves correspondingly differential treatment). This training was part one of a two part training; I hope to attend the second part in May. I highly recommend this training to anyone working with at-risk youth: http://www.peakexperiencetraining.com/02_01clinicalfirst.htm

Celebrating our Successes

DarklingThrush — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:41:54 GMT

Eight 'troubled teens'. Four dedicated instructors. Four thousand sqare miles of mangroves, sawgrass, cypress hammocks and alligators. Shake thoroughly and serve with generous sides of laughter and sleep deprivation. We had a young group this time, average age 14. We had a good toneset, but were still pleasantly surprised at how quickly this group bought in to making the most of their Outward Bound experience. They learned to embrace new challenges, laugh in the face of adversity, and have fun in conditions that would have other groups non-stop griping. And they never gave up, even after paddling for six hours one night into the teeth of a vicious tide, passing the same point of land 12 times... When the going got hard, they would tell us, "we can do it!" And they did. I will never forget our first morning waking up in the narrow "Hell's Bay" mangrove tunnel, leading a group yoga session on our little canoe-raft, only to have a couple of passing paddlers stare at what they must have thought was a mirage ("um, honey - did you see the sign up for the floating swamp yoga class back at the ranger station?"). Or having breakfast during a crazy storm on Highland Beach, with the tarp blowing down around us and palm trees doubling over (we later heard there had been tornadoes in the area), looking out over the storm-tossed sea, laughing about how we would never forget... Now the kids have flown the nest, and we're back at base debriefing and giving each other feedback. Ideally these sessions help us get even better at what we do. Too often they leave me wondering how I managed to do anything right... ("...never forget...") If I didn't have all these pictures of kids with huge smiles on their muddy faces. If I didn't have kids and parents telling me how grateful they are, and how they're recommending Outward Bound to everyone they know. Amidst all the constructive feedback, it's important to celebrate our successes. Helps me not to forget. Not to give up. Gives me the courage to do it all over again.

Ultimate Hideout

DarklingThrush — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:23:51 GMT

When Columbus arrived in the "West Indies", the Calusa were hanging out in the Everglades. The Spanish, despite two expeditions led by Ponce de Leon, were unable subdue them. Over the next two centuries, as the Spanish shipped more and more gold stolen from the Aztecs and Incas, pirates hid out in the Everglades and Florida Keys, daring the dangerous Florida Straights to get their share of the booty. In the early 1800s, refugees from the Creek Indian wars fled into the Everglades, where they were joined by (and sheltered) runaway slaves. They became known as 'Seminoles', or 'runaways'. Famous injun killer and genocidal butcher Andrew Jackson tried (as Florida's 1st governor, and later as president) to force them out, but they never surrendered, fighting well into the 1900s before the US finally gave up and let them stay. This weekend, myself, three other instructors, and ten students of diverse ethnic backgrounds will join this historical line of proud warriors, refugees, and swashbucklers - we will live in the Everglades for 20 days! We will paddle through a maze of mangroves, sawgrass, and cypress hammocks, rarely stepping out of our seven canoes for the whole trip. There's precious little in the way of dry land, so at night we will lash our canoes together to form our own little island and sleep on a platform we build across the top. By mid-course we'll camp at a beautiful wilderness beach we will have all to ourselves on the Gulf of Mexico. We will stay there for three nights, then paddle back along the coast to Whitewater Bay, which we must cross (picture the intro to Hawaii 5-0 here, with our canoes lashed together to form catamarans, and all the kids paddling like crazy to make headway in the surf, waves crashing over our boats...) to reach our pickup. Along the way we will see alligators and crocodiles (the Everglades are home to the only American Crocodiles), sharks and tarpon, eagles and osprey, manatees and dolphins, snowy egrets and great white herons, roseate spoonbills and pelicans... If we are truly lucky, we may even see a Florida Panther (it is a dream I have). Final preparations are underway. Twenty days in one of the world's truly unique places. We have one more night of freedom, and then Darkling Thrush is Outward Bound!

"...how good it is"

DarklingThrush — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 05:46:47 GMT

Hanging out at our Key Largo base tonight, watching movies with my instructional team for an Everglades course starting next week. Last night we watched "Motorcycle Diaries"; tonight it was the 1994 classic "Awakenings". Do you remember it? Robert De Niro plays a coma patient who miraculously recovers 30 years later. He could be bitter, but instead he's too busy dancing, eating, and making up for lost time - and is stunned to see the people around him wasting theirs. After noticing all the depressing news in the paper, he exclaims: "They got it all wrong! Life is good! Remind them how good it is... People have forgotten what life is all about!" I often wonder about people who sell their time for money. I don't mean everyone who works - work is life! But The Prophet says if you cannot work with love in your heart then better to be a beggar in the streets. Those people who spend their lives doing things they hate, or just things that they find utterly unfulfilling - if, at the end of their lives, they found a box on the shelf at Wall Mart with all those lost hours back in the prime of their life, how much would they pay for it? No matter how rich they've gotten, how much would they give back for those lost hours? Sometimes I feel like I slept through most of my 20s. My time ain't for sale no more. ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Quatrains by Rumi ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened. Don't open the door to the study and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument. Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground. Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase each other doesn't make any sense. The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don't go back to sleep. You must ask for what you really want. Don't go back to sleep. People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch. The door is round and open. Don't go back to sleep. I would love to kiss you. The price of kissing is your life. Now my loving is running to my life shouting, What a bargain, let's buy it. Daylight, full of small dancing particles and the one great turning, our souls are dancing with you, without feet, they dance. Can you see them when I whisper in your ear? They try to say what you are, spiritual or sexual? They wonder about Solomon and all his wives. In the body of the world, they say, there is a soul and you are that. But we have ways within each other that will never be said by anyone. Come to the orchard in Spring. There is light and wine, and sweethearts in the pomegranate flowers. If you do not come, these do not matter. If you do come, these do not matter.

Marooned!

DarklingThrush — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:28:41 GMT

...in the Florida Keys. My course in the Everglades was postponed till January 31, so now I'm wiling away the hours snorkeling, camping on the beach, sipping fruity drinks in my hammock, and making occasional forays into that den of inequity, Key West. Life has its challenges, but it's important to face them with a swashbuckler's flair, no? So these days, I ask myself, what would Erol Flynn do?

Coyote Runs...

DarklingThrush — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:07:57 GMT

...Joshua Treehugger...Goblin Throne...Ravens Nesting... What to title this blog, when I experienced all of this and more? Just finished two weeks in Joshua Tree, backpacking and rock climbing. Spent New Year's Eve camping solo under the desert stars, at the foot of a monolithic rock formation resembling a giant goblin on a throne 300' high. Awoke the next morning to discover a pair of ravens (they mate for life) nested half way up. Bouldered my way up through the Wonderland of Rocks, bivouacking when it got dark and the rocks frosted over. Sweated, grunted, cussed, and bled my way up half a dozen vertical rock walls. Ran eight miles for a finale, hugging the Dr. Seuss trees along my route and having a couple of coyotes join me for a 100 yards or so. One thing for sure - I will never forget the way I rang in 2008! I've worked at Outward Bound for three years, and finally graduated a course :) I'm used to signing the diplomas, not earning one. But one of our perks we get is the fun of taking courses as students so we can develop new skills. This year I chose rock climbing. Next year maybe dogsledding. Life is good, when you're Outward Bound.

All Staff 2007

DarklingThrush — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 03:39:53 GMT

This is the one time each year when we can gather all the instructors (no courses going on). We debrief the year, catch up on each other's adventures, share skills, hear some impressive guest speakers, and mix in a four day end-of-year party. There was a lot of steam to be blown off this year, as the last three months had been pretty crazy. Monday was the charity auction; I contributed two southern bourbon pecan pies, two strawberry cobblers, four hour-long massages, and a cedar bow drill set (for making friction fires). I also posed for a "Men of Outward Bound" limited release calendar; I was Mr. October ("100% Sight & Sound"). Tuesday was the great fire challenge - field staff versus base staff. This year the competition was fierce, and involved building three fires as well as male and female champions solo-portaging canoes. You might think field staff might have an unfair advantage, until you realize that base staff includes a lot of retired field staff with decades of experience. Nevertheless we won for the second year in a row, and the trophy continues to reside in the field staff lounge rather than base staff headquarters. They tried to replace our pirate party with a prom! So we played along. Emily and I decided to go backwards - I dressed in an emerald green hip-hugging prom gown; she called for me looking smart in jacket and tie. We had fun dancing for a while, but once they announced the prom king and queen... we slipped away, redressed in our pirate garb, and conducted a raid to kidnap the queen! It was brilliant - our infiltrator replaced their music with "YO HO HO" as half of us rappelled over the balcony while the other half raced down the stairwell to secure our escape route. The raid... urm... floundered, as the queen had left early, our music ended, and the lame prom dance music returned. But for a minute there we were a terror! There were some professional moments amid all the decompressing. I was especially interested in Dr. Yonge's presentation on ODD and Joann Deak's presentation on the adolescent brain. I made plans to get my Clinical First Responder certification in Salt Lake City this February. We learned about new perks. I have been here for three years now, and OB is rewarding me by *paying* me to go rock climbing in Joshua Tree over New Years! Tonight and for Christmas, I am back in Alabama with family. Come December 27, however, Darkling Thrush is Outward Bound!

Appalachia to Apalachicola

DarklingThrush — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 02:36:48 GMT

12-16-2007 Finally escaped the hot tubs and micro brews of Asheville (well, I brought some micro-brews with me), and after a brief blissful encounter at the Hostel, I reported for another Outward Bound assignment. This one was rough - scouting the hiking trails of Apalachicola National Forest with a bunch of fellow instructors. With no kids to watch, we got to be the kids, and had fun playing in the forest. I hiked in kilt and chacos. We never saw bears, but saw bear scat and tracks everywhere. And we saw this cute little guy - a pygmy rattle snake. Next day we saw a coral snake! On our last day we did something we could never do on course - we accepted a ride from some hunters, tossing our packs in the back of their pickup and then climbing in on top. They insisted we come to dinner, where we feasted on venison, possum, and wild pig, along with some fried bluegill and steamed blue crabs (it's important to establish good relations with the natives).

Elk in the Smokies

DarklingThrush — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 02:06:54 GMT

12-06-2007 We went hiking in the Cataloochee Valley of Smoky Mountain National Park. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, which contrasted nicely with the mossy greens and fallen leaves. They have re-released elk in the Smokies! We saw this 11-pointer (5x6) along with several doe. At lunch time I surprised my friends with the reason my pack was so heavy - I was hiking with smoked wild salmon, free range prime rib, and a 6-pack of Dogfish Head's Raison D'Etre ("deep, mahogany ale brewed with beet sugar, green raisins, and Belgian-style yeast"). It was a good day. Capped it off with a bottle of Yeti Oak-aged Imperial Stout while soaking in the hostel hot tub with new friends Amber and Sarah. I love Asheville.

Where the Smoky Mountains meet the British Isles

DarklingThrush — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 02:37:52 GMT

In Asheville tonight. Downed a few pints of Green Man porter at the Jack o' the Wood pub, where it was mountain music jam night. Tomorrow I'm headed up into the mountains on a day hike with some friends from the hostel. Life is good, when you let it be!