Follow

This is a picture of some of us hiking to Twin Falls last year.

Last week I hiked 9 miles up Rattlesnake Mountain with Linda and two other women. I'm willing to follow Linda almost anywhere because she is an excellent leader. What does she do that makes her easy to follow?

Linda has a destination in mind. She knows where she is going and paints a clear picture of the destination so that I can decide whether to contribute my time and energy to reach it. She has hiked a lot, so she usually has traveled the route before and can describe the highlights of the route that will motivate me to join her on the hike.

She shows up, and she shows stamina. Linda arrives at our meeting place at the appointed time. She waits for everyone who said they would come, and she makes sure everyone's well equipped for the day. As we hike, Linda goes before us every step of the way. I can see her pack bobbing ahead of me, and I can hear the bell that hangs on her pack to warn off predators. If I fall behind, Linda waits for me. She makes sure everyone successfully finishes the hike.

She carries the essential things. Linda knows that smart hikers don't take off, even for day hikes, without the 10 essential things. Once I climbed Tiger Mt. in brand new hiking boots, and of course got a blister. Linda gave me some moleskin, which made the descent from the mountain bearable in those stiff, new boots. Another time we hiked in the late fall and I didn't have enough layers of clothing. Linda loaned me an extra shirt. Instead of finishing the hike in misery, I was warm and comfortable.

Linda is an exemplary leader: she has a destination in mind, shows up and shows stamina, and carries the essential things. It's fun to follow when Linda leads.

http://weeklyanamnesis.blogspot.com

DaVinci Code Rant

DaVinci Code, the movie, is about to be released and the Concerned Women for America and many others are Up In Arms! They want to refute all the inaccuracies in Dan Brown' s book (and presumably the movie, although one wonders--did they attend screenings? or are they condemning the movie without seeing it like the Christians who objected to Mel Gibson's Passion without ever seeing it?). They are concerned that we will think the book/movie convey actual truths about Jesus, Catholicism, and Mary Magdalene. They are enjoining us Not to Give Tom Hanks, et al, any of our hard-earned money. We do not need to see the movie and form our own opinion. They Know What's Good For Us.

Can we all just take a deep breath? The DaVinci Code is a work of FICTION! Yes, we know that Brown includes a "this is all true" notice right up front. Hey, so did the movie "Fargo," and we didn't buy that, did we? I'm just so annoyed at all these credulous morons who get exercised about nonsense like this. Why don't they put their considerable energy into solving real issues? Here's an example: http://www.one.org/.

Creating

I am reading R. Fritz' book Creating and enjoying it a lot. He suggests the following exercise: create something new every day for 7 days. I started on Thursday by envisioning and designing a bulletin-board display for church. Then on Friday I wrote a poem. On Saturday I didn't do anything new, but I put up the display I had envisioned. Unless you count the "creation" of having a warm visit with a friend. On Sunday I created a wonderful meal of roast chicken, potatoes, salad, rolls, and beans for my family and my daughter's friend. Today is Monday. What will I create today?

Day-after-May-Day

I spent last Tuesday on the patio reading an amazing book, Presence, by Peter Senge, Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski, and Betty Sue Flowers. It describes the U model of change, Seeing, Presencing, Acting. I was inspired by Joseph's account of a Sacred Passage retreat he went on in Baja, California led by John P. Milton. Milton established the Sacred Land Trust and is buying land in order to preserve it for humans to get in touch with their world. Part of the trust is a 250-acre preserve in Colorado. It got me thinking about doing one of these retreats: you spend 4 days being trained, then 6 days by yourself in the wilderness, then 2 days back at a camp with others who have had the same experience. It sounds scary and amazing, fraught with possibilities for seeing, contemplating, figuring out my next move.

Since I read the book I have been doing my morning runs without the aid of Ipod. I forgot how nice (and hard) it can be to keep myself company and think rambling thoughts to the beat of my running feet.