Stretch beyond your perceived limits

What can you learn from a rock, a tree, and a tarp? If you’re climbing the face of rock wall, walking across the bark-bare-tree hanging like a tightrope high above the ground, or sleeping under the tarp for the first time alone, outside in the winter, you can learn a great deal. . .or let me say more truthfully, I learned much.

Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.

~ Og Mandino

High ropes at NC Outward Bound course In March I took part in a 4 day expedition put on by the North Carolina Outward Bound Professional program. Along with 7 others, including our fantastic facilitators Bob and CJ, I backpacked in the Pisgah National Forest, played team-building games that stretched my mind, and went through physical challenges that worked both body and soul. It was a marvelous experience that I’m not sure can be equaled in any other kind of educational environment. I returned home feeling more powerful, confident, capable, engaged, and alive. Communing with nature, breaking my routine, and going beyond what I knew I could do grew me in ways I’m still discovering.

Taking a breather along the Mountains to Sea trail If you’re feeling quite comfortable in your life or conversely, extremely uncomfortable with the life you’re living, I urge you to consider taking a trip with Outward Bound. As Kurt Hahn, the founder of the organization once wrote, “There is more to us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps, for the rest of our lives, we will be unwilling to settle for less.”