Outstanding in the Field

This past holiday I gathered my family and we made our way up to Max Patch outside of Asheville, NC in Pisgah National Forest; one of the most beautiful and highly visited sites in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Snow left from the previous week left us with a snowman out-standing it the field, even though it was over 60 degrees.

Being an outdoor educator/facilitator means that you have the ability to find meaning and metaphor in everything. This little guy made me think about what it means to endure and yet allow, even honor, the conditions which forge us. For those suffering from mental illness or addictions issues, this concept is central to long term recovery. The important part is to reach the place where gratitude is what you experience when considering the forces which forged your life including, or even especially, the pain.

I was talking to a group before the holiday and referenced a famous Victor Frankl quote... "That which gives light must endure burning." While nowhere near the extreme of Dr. Frankl’s circumstances, I expressed that this is the nature of our work in behavioral health. You give light to those in darkness and, in so doing, endure burning. It’s a burning that is cleansing, that rings of simple yet profound truth and ultimately forges not only who you are but how you choose to see light in darkness. What a gift. If you are able to look closely enough at the snowman out standing in the field on the hill, enduring the burning sun, he’s wearing a smile. When my physical body can endure no more of this world and I pass from it, I will remember to wear the warm smile of gratitude for the privilege to have lived and given light.