1. Waking up at 6am isn’t actually that hard when there’s a two hour nap on a bus to look forward to.
2. Being alert & focused enough to make it out the door by 7:15am, without actually waking up so much that I can’t nap later, is a bit more difficult.
3. Not everyone can sleep soundly on a bouncing bus winding through deep curved hills with a couple dozen burners scarfing donuts & making chit chat all about; I am not everyone.
4. I didn’t get any coffee before Rachel finished the mug so I am going to die.
5. We are all really excited to be here for this collaborative, mutually supportive team building activity. & we are all determined to be the one who “wins.”
6. It’s reassuring to sign a short waiver form without a lot of “initial here” check boxes & modern language. It says “We haven’t killed anyone yet or otherwise been forced to defend our waiver in court.”
7. Batman is totally my favorite comic book character, but no, I don’t particularly identify with him.
8. The Jungle Rumble of the Tutu Tomcats was totally the best team name.
9. “Challenge by choice” ought to be woven into the Burning Man ethos. It’s an excellent corollary to the semi-subtle pressure of “No spectators.”
10. “Play safe, play fair, play hard.” I’d definitely rather see a reality show with that motto, than Survivor’s “Outwit/Outplay/Outlast/Outfuck/Outthink/Outshitinthebrainsofthemasses”
11. Everyone should know the lyrics and melody to “Country Roads.” I feel this is very very important.
12. Sometimes a group of friends has a harder time getting started than a group of strangers. Sometimes you need the footsteps of the Tyrannosaurus Rex from over the hill.
13. It’s a lot easier to balance on a taut wire three feet off the ground than a loose one thirty feet up.
14. Sometimes it’s easier to see what works for other people before your turn. Other times it’s easiest to be the guinea pig.
15. Everything’s easy from the outside; it’s difficult to see how hard someone may be working on the inside of their own head.
16. When a blindfold makes things simpler, it may be an asset rather than a liability.
17. The rush of the air through the scent of the trees & the blaze of the sun on the pulse of the blood in the sleeve of the skin expands to fill the entire world even as it all whips by in a series of flashing moments that shrink rhythmically down into the still present as the swinging slows to a stop.
18. Behind every good climb is a ready belay team.
19. Pretty much everyone is thinking at some point what you hesitate to say because you don’t want to be the only one.
20. Nothing like cheesy greasy calories after a long day of sweat & stretch in the woods.
21. Watching a masterful bus driver’s muscles ripple & brow furrow & knit while steering through winding hills & cramped parking lots is like watching an amazing juggler–it’s a beautiful, difficult thing, made (somewhat) effortless through years of steady practice; & most people aren’t aware of how hard it is until something goes wrong with a dropped knife or a smashed fender.
22. We may not all believe in ghosts but perhaps we all do believe in something beyond ourselves calling us to become the person we can be, but are not quite, yet.
23. “Who needs coffee?”
Agreed on “Country Roads” -and not just because I’m from PA an border the state that song is about…
Autumn
Love it! What a wonderful list of thoughts for the day.