“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul.” - John Muir
A common passion for the outdoors is a thriving element in the mind of the Outdoor Mindset folks. I know I can speak for all of us when I say that John Muir could not have been more spot on.
Last week, Outdoor Mindset held our second “official” board meeting in a local office boardroom downtown Boulder. The meeting kicked off with each of us sharing our most memorable outdoor experience. I don’t know about the rest of our group, but I had a pretty difficult time narrowing it down to just one story. Somehow, each of us managed to tell one of the amazing experiences we’ve had throughout our lives. As our stories circulated the room, I began to notice a similar theme in each. Whether it was my own personal story of hiking Yellowstone’s pristine backcountry, with 3 people I had met a week prior, and experiencing a full on charge from a grizzly; or Jake’s experience in the Wrangell-St. Elias Wilderness of Alaska for 12 days carving fresh telemark lines into the mountain every day, we each gained a sense of therapy, healing, or strength from the experience while connecting with relatives, friends, or people we had met only days earlier.
I wonder if John Muir could amend his quotes, he would mention the connection he also made with the individuals with whom he shared his experiences.
With three board members currently affected (or have been affected) by neurological challenges, each of us were able to see our mission of “uniting and inspiring individuals affected by neurological challenges to live big through a common passion for outdoor adventure” actually come to life. Our goal is to take individuals like these three, and match them with similar individuals where the same experiences can be shared. Our hope is while these individuals connect with the outdoors, they also have someone to connect with on the same neurological level….someone who’s been through or is going through a similar situation. As we’ve mentioned in prior posts, it’s great to have the love and support from family, but it would be nice to speak with someone who’s been there and done that….case in point, Jake and Diane Van Deren. This element of a similar diagnosis connection was missing from each story told last week, which in turn gives each of us more drive and determination to make OM a success for all affected by neurological challenges with a passion for the outdoors.
As summer begins to shed it’s light on The Rocky Mountains, the variety of outdoor activity only increases so stay tuned for more exciting news to come from the OM crew.
