We'll Find a Way

Early this summer, we had the opportunity to visit our son Sam in Boulder, Utah, a tiny, remote town bordering the spectacular Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. At our son's suggestion, we hired a renowned mountaineer who calls Boulder his home, Ace Kvale, to hike us down into the canyon all the way to the river and out again. It was a daunting task as I peered down the canyon into slickrock that has been forming for almost 275 million years. There was no trail where we were hiking. Ace was using his expert orienteering skills to take us on a free-form adventure. Fortunately, my focus was on ensuring each step was mindful and sure. After all, this wasn't a race, it was an experience. And I wanted to complete the experience without broken bones or worse. There was just one time in the 8 hour hike that I felt my life was in jeopardy, and Ace compassionately found another route, longer but less steep, to accommodate my temporary fear of heights. I learned a lot about myself that day- my abilities, my limitations, my willingness to take risks, and my compassion toward myself for not scaling that incredibly steep wall. Ace's mantra, which I have decided to adopt, is "We'll find a way."

Another part of this story is the Grand Staircase...it's immensity and profound beauty is beyond measure......1.9 million acres of pure wilderness that was never even mapped until about 100 years ago. It was recently cut in half by the federal government; in other words, half of the monument, is open for permits for cattle grazing, but also oil and gas drilling and coal excavation.

However, the owners of the Hell's Backbone Grill (where Sam works), a wonderful farm-to-table restaurant, along with others like Ace in this tiny town of Boulder, have made it their mission to inform the public, to lobby legislators and to protect this awesome resource which is unique and precious to the future of our public land. Their mantra is "Public land for public hands". I know with their energy, advocacy, drive and motivation, and perhaps some help from the rest of us, that "we'll will find a way" to preserve this space for future generations. 

I also know that there's even more meaning attached to this mantra. I work with a variety of students, young and old, some very healthy, but others with mobility, emotional or intellectual challenges, and I know that each time we move together in class, we will find a way around limitations. (Check out my students on my new website www.dancingwellness.com ) One of the wonderful aspects of my Dance for PD training is the emphasis on finding the movement potential....the possibilities, as opposed to focusing on disabilities. There is so much we can do to move, and include every facet of our being, physical and emotional, to create a more joyful space for our bodies in life.

Let's not limit ourselves. We'll find a way....