Beneath my watch is a layer of dirt and sweat.
From my shoes pour pebbles and grit.
I shake my silver brown hair and mica flies into the wind.
Tongue to my lips and I taste the dust of the earth, the sage I picked.
This will not last forever. At least, not yet.
This is a gift: being able to open the door to the outdoors for kids.
Impressionable young adults.
At the beginning they were squeamish about walking through mud.
This week I taught them to allow themselves to be dirty--hands on fun.
By the end of the week they were playing in streams, watching hawks, writing poetry.
"A Warrior of the Light shares his world with the people he loves. He tries to encourage them to do the things they would like to do but for which they lack the courage." - Paulo Coelho, Warrior of the Light
This is my calling in life: to share the beauty of nature with the youth so that we may all have a deeper appreciation and love for it. If it is not appreciated, who will stand before the bulldozers and concrete and log cutters and engineers and roads? Who will fight for the few pristine and beautiful places we have left in this world? Who will be able to look at a mountain and see themselves reflected in it? Who will be able to stand on that mountain and look upon their world with awe and inspiration?
