When I was a kid I was an expert at playing. I could
say, “Red rover, red rover, send John on over” with the best of them. King of
the mountain, lawn darts or any number of other neighborhood games I was good,
perhaps even great at them. Then behind the house where I grew up were “The Woods.”
The Woods is where I spent summer after summer. We
would leave the house early, grab our BB guns and head off to explore. It was
in those woods I learned to look for something new. A new section, a new ‘cave,’
or find a new place to fish. My brother and I were not afraid of getting lost
or hurt or to even run across danger. In those woods I was in my element. I was
where I belonged.
I remember one summer when I was “convinced” Bigfoot
lived in those woods and so we set off to find him. What would we do if we
found him? Well, we would have captured him, shot him or did whatever it took
to succeed in our endeavor. It was the thrill of the adventure we were after. Success,
to us, was inevitable, no other option. We had a plan of sorts. Step one was
find Bigfoot. Step two was bringing him home in some capacity – dead or alive.
Each time, summer after summer, I had a plan I was focused on and committed to.
But as I look back and reminisce, it was never about
the trees, the caves or even Bigfoot, it was more about the imagination, the
dreams and the fearless exploration. Fear of the unknown never entered into our
consciousness. The excitement of adventures got me up every morning and all I
had was a bb gun. It wasn’t even a fancy 10 pump but a little lever action
Daisy Red Rider. But I still was not afraid. With that gun and my wits I was
ready to take on whatever stood in front of me. No obstacle was too big. No “monster”
was too much to handle. No matter how deep in the woods I went, getting lost
was never an issue. Then I grew up.
Growing up I have misplaced that drive, that sense
of adventure and imagination. It was those three elements when I was a kid in
Kentucky that gave me a plan, a purpose and I was committed to it, focused on
it. I was a success or at least I thought I was….no I was. As I sit here in
this hotel room not knowing if my truck will get me home (come on Sally, we
know you can do it), I want to find that boy in Kentucky again. He was the one
who was not afraid of the unknown, the one who took a measly, inadequate bb gun
and set off to hunt Bigfoot, the one that woke up each morning with purpose and
was focused on it, the one with a plan he was committed to.
Today, August 17, 2013 I will be that boy again. I
will have purpose, a plan with focus and commitment. Today, I will explore the
woods again. I will step out on the adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment