Mothers day is coming up.
Spring is here (apparently Wyoming didn’t get the memo).
I have a wedding to plan.
I’m building my creative portfolio.
So DIY blogs have become my best friend. especially when the weather is crazy like today..amazing the things ppl come up with
Moab, UT
March 16-17, 2011
We live our lives everyday, most times not even realizing that everything we choose to do is possibly preparing us (or unpreparing us) for the bumpier parts of life. Sometimes things don’t always go as planned, actually, almost never. Most often it is how we respond, and what we have learned as we walk away and look back that defines our character.
Today Walden felt a bump, and I am so proud of how they responded. I am proud of these students, and I am proud to be associated with them even for this brief period of time. I am not sure how this trip has changed me yet, but I know it has.
I know Christian Dehass and I did not know each other very well, but I was there to hold his hand and tell him that he was loved when he needed it. He won’t remember, but that’s okay because I needed it as much as he did. He doesn’t remember, but I remember for him that Diana held him close the whole time. Eric, Grady, and Sharon was there for him doing everything they could with what we had for over an hour until proper medical help came and took over. Teachers and students alike leaped into action. Running out to meet the rangers, calling 911, gathering his belongings. Out by the parking lot where we gathered, the Walden students prayed for him. We all came together to do what we felt was needed at the time.
Terry Tempest Williams said, “To be whole. To be complete. Wilderness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.”
This connected us, and I hope we all walk away from this tramatic incident with greater love for each other and for all life. Christian isn’t out of the woods yet, so I pray for you and your family, Christian, on a safe and quick recovery.
When we were with Christian, waiting for help to come, I heard one of the students say, “We are Walden, we are family. We all love you.”
The wild will remind us what it means to be human, but so will experiences like this. What does it mean to be human? To feel. To share. To share the mutual feeling of pain and joy. Watching Christian fall and feeling how real that was, shattered my reality. I can’t really explain to anybody else who didn’t experience this, what it was really like.
Words aren’t strong enough. One thing I do know is that I don’t regret being with Walden that day. I see now that I can’t fall apart every time something unplanned happens to thwart my plans. It was a horrible accident, but it made me realize how much I care. I care. And I will never forget.
“The world is holy. We are holy. All life is holy. Daily prayers are delivered on the lips of breaking waves, the whisperings of grasses, the shimmering of leaves.”
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