It’s time to take on our next challenge
I hope this post finds you well.
I remember it well, looking out of my scout masters living room window. I could see a small pond with plenty of weeds and an occasional bubble surfacing. A sense of calmness overcame me as the sunlight bathed my face. I looked up towards the sun and was forced to squint, Startled I was, when my scout master said, “Here is a list of trail route packages we can choose from. There are 12 to choose from, each entails 10 days of hiking. There listed by how many miles are covered, starting at number 1, 110 miles and on down the list to about 20 miles. You guys go thru the list and choose one. You must decide today so we can make our reservations.”, said scout master. Handing me the list, I lay it out before so all 10 scout recruits can view it. The other scouts are from neighboring towns. I have never met any of them, none of us know one another.
We all look intently. Each package includes all sorts of activities, from gold panning to using mules for a half day to climbing Mt Baldy at 12,000 feet. I notice there is an exertion warning label next to the top 4. Suddenly, visions of being helicoptered off a mountain, looking down from the helicopter I can see the bear jumping up to try and bite me. So, I reach over and point to the middle one, below the warning labels. Just as I touched number 6, I heard an exhale, a sigh of relief, from behind me. I think we may be in agreement here and I was relieved.
A kid in the back reaches over my shoulder and begins to point at number 8. Further down the list. He says, “I like this one, there is a day off in the middle, plus we can have donkeys carry our gear for two days. That’s not bad huh.”
Another scout says, “hey we can do better than that, how about #7? It’s got archery, animal tracking lessons and horses.”
“Cool, let’s do that one.” Say’s another.
While I’m glancing upwards from the list, feeling even more relieved, my scout master interrupts by standing at attention. With a disappointing face, he points to the top of the list and starts, “You mean to tell me, you’re going all the way to New Mexico to learn archery, walk with the donkeys and then take a day off. You can do that here. Look, you are traveling to the American Southwest. Everything is different. … Where’s your sense of adventure?… Number 1, lets experience all that the SW has to offer. Beautiful vistas, high mountain passes, challenging hikes, and leadership experience. … Number 1 is it. You’ll need to be in shape, run ten miles a day. I’ll make the reservations. Let’s start planning.”
A few months later we finished all 110 miles, climbed Baldy Mountain, panned for gold, took turns navigating, cooking and cleaning. It was a great experience for us. That was in 1977.
A few years later, I finally heard the famous speech, from President John F Kennedy, who addressed congress for money to put a man on the moon and safely return him home in this decade. He challenged us. At the time when the Russians were in space. The President could have said “let’s catch up to the Russians”. Fortunately, he did not. The result of his challenge, in ten years we successfully landed a man on the moon. One of mankind’s greatest technological feats. He challenged the American people and they responded, positioning us ahead of the Russians and spawning the computing age.
These two stories overlap. A leader challenging people to do more than what they thought or imagined they could do. A few scouts or all citizens of a country, it doesn’t matter. Let’s face it, climate change is upon us. This is what we need to do today. All around the world, peoples are being displaced, forced to move due to water shortages. We are farming non-sustainably using our limited aquifer supply faster than it can be replenished. We pollute, use single use items voraciously that generate huge landfills that emit methane.
The challenges in the past were clear, as a young growing adult that needs personal and teamwork adventures to build character, and for a country facing an adversary that was in space before us. Today’s challenges are many with more dire consequences if not addressed. Although not much is being done, the need for action is there. Our issues today are because of our daily practices and the culture of consume and discard. It might be the most difficult challenge we face, changing our attitudes and habits.
I say, it is time to face this challenge. Let’s do it, an Earth Shot, that is. An all in one, initiative, say 5 trillion, to change our farming practices from ‘use until depleted’ to ‘sustainable farming’, stop emitting greenhouse gasses like CO2 and methane, stop polluting altogether, create and embrace a cradle-to-cradle product life cycle for commerce. Embrace, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. I say we leave a healthy world, for your children’s children to inherit.