On The Other Hand: It’s All About The Passion

I have the best job in the world. It’s not because I’m paid a lot of money. It’s not because I’m famous, or because people tell me what a wonderful thing I’m doing. It’s not even because I think I’m helping to make the world a better place.

Maybe I should just tell you what I do: I get to dress up like Gandalf (you know. the old wizard in Lord of the Rings) and go out into the woods and play with children who are using foam rubber swords and foam-tipped arrows to fight goblins and dragons bent on destroying mankind.

I work for Trackers Earth, which provides wilderness day camps for students of all ages. And I mean ALL ages, from pre-K to adults of any age. Trackers is not your father’s “Outdoor School.” Not only do we engage in LARPing (Live Action Role Play), but also we teach knife safety and carving, fire-building, animal tracking, archery, native plant identification, and a host of other outdoor wilderness skills.

Why is it called Trackers? Animal tracking is an incredible way to explore Nature. While glimpsing a coyote or deer might be rare, their tracks are not. You just have to learn how and where to look. When you find a track, take care not to step on any other prints that might be in line with it. Get down close by getting on your knees to examine it.

We also learn how to avoid leaving tracks that would attract anything that may be hunting us for dinner. Toward that end, we are fanatical about leaving no trace, making sure that we leave every place we visit cleaner and more unspoiled than we found it. It’s part of what we call the “Three Big Rules of Trackers,” which focus first on safety.

First, NOBODY DIES.

Second, NO WOUNDS THAT WON’T HEAL IN FOUR DAYS.

Third, FOLLOW THE CODE OF COMMON SENSE.

Pay attention: Push the edges of your awareness: eyes, ears, and all your senses. Keep an open mind and heart. Don’t restrict yourself with a narrow view of things. The challenges and opportunities Nature provides often go unseen. Pay Attention to the spaces and places most people ignore.

Be Truly Helpful: Understand the difference between what you believe is helpful and what is Truly Helpful. Complaining about being cold and hungry is not helpful. Building a campfire or catching fish is helpful. When you put the needs of your community first you become Truly Helpful.

Respect: Many think surviving in nature means struggling against it. Yet, like a Mariner sailing the currents of the sea, we can Flow with nature. Take the time to experience the true way of things: creeks, plants, animals, birds, trees, wind, clouds, stars, sun, and moon. By giving your time, appreciation, and respect, you become part of their Flow.

We’re doing it wrong; we can do it better. Don’t let perfection get in the way of progress.

There’s no perfect way to shoot a bow or weave a basket. There is only progress. Be excited that you’re always doing it wrong and there are countless ways to improve. Like the plants, animals, and even mountains, you never stop growing. You always do it better!

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.

“So do I,” said Gandalf. “And so do all who live in such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

I would gladly pay for the opportunity to do what I do in the Autumn of my life. Some have cautioned me not to declare this sentiment for fear that my employers might use such information to take advantage of me.

It is a measure of our mutual respect that I need have no such fear. I do not think of them as my employers, but as my partners in a marvelous adventure that makes my life more meaningful than I ever imagined it could be.