Scoutmaster Blog - Words of Wisdom from our Scoutmaster
Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.
The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your arm.
-Swedish proverb
"Whether you reach success or failure in life has little to do with your circumstances; it has much more to do with your attitude… with your faithful courage… with your choices!"
Bad Campouts
No one remembers the great camp outs when the weather is great and when everything goes as planned. People remember the bad camp outs. They remember when it rained the entire time they were camping and their tent was so full of water they were floating on their Thermarest in the tent. They remember that winter camp when it was in the low teens but felt like forty below zero. Or the time when they had frost on the inside of the tent and snow on the outside. Then there are the camp outs when you forget the eggs for omelets on Saturday morning and have to eat veggies and sausage for breakfast. Or you remember the eggs but they are frozen solid and look like weird eyeballs when you peel them. Or sometimes you put off eating some foods for later during your 50miler and end up with a can of Lima beans, a can of corn, a can of brussel sprouts and a can of tomatoes is all you have left for your last dinner.
Why do we remember these bad camp outs more that the good ones? The reasons are simple and have many names like adversity, challenge, accomplishment. Anyone can survive a great camp out in perfect weather Toughing it out through a monsoon with a wet tent, wet sleeping bad, wet clothes is a challenge. Most people would not even go camping if they knew it was going to rain. Those that do make it to woods would leave to find a hotel once their clothes are wet. Anyone can camp in the summer, even the fall and spring are not that bad, but the winter. It takes a lot to know you are going to be cold and still plan to sleep in the cold. Anyone can cook regular eggs can you cook frozen eggs? What do you have to do for frozen eggs? Ever had a no egg omelet?
If it was easy anyone could do it. If it came with instructions anyone could handle it. Today too many people look for the easy button in camping just as in life there are no easy buttons. The only way to do what you want and get what you want is to work for it, to do what others will not dare, to challenge yourself and to complete what you start. Anyone can quit, the only way to win is to first finish.