{"id":6477,"date":"2018-04-02T13:21:04","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T13:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/?p=6477"},"modified":"2018-04-02T13:21:04","modified_gmt":"2018-04-02T13:21:04","slug":"paying-attention-four-trails-four-folds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/paying-attention-four-trails-four-folds\/","title":{"rendered":"Paying Attention: Four Trails, Four\u00a0Folds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>We don\u2019t matter much, but the children do. Show them daisies and the pale hepatica. Teach them the taste of sassafras and wintergreen\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. Give them the fields and the woods and the possibility of the world\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. Stand them in the stream, rejoice as they learn to love this green space they live in, its ticks and leaves, and then the silent, beautiful blossoms. Attention is the beginning of devotion.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Mary Oliver,\u00a0Upstream<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6479 alignleft lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/at1-495x640.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"252\" height=\"326\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 252px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 252\/326;\" \/>\u00a0Attention is at the heart of all that I do with the AYF\u200a\u2014\u200ato curriculum, training, agendas, schedules, colleagues, and campers. I try to pay attention to even the smallest details as I review maps, routes, and itineraries in preparation for a summer of incredible adventure. In this, I am reminded to center my thoughts and to take a moment to consider the intention that sits just beneath the checklists and objectives.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m inspired by Mary Oliver\u2019s reverence for the forest: <em>For me the door to the woods is the door to the temple. <\/em>For me these words are a mantra of the Four Trails program\u200a\u2014\u200aat the core of Four Trails is the belief that when we invite youth to explore and discover the wonder of their natural surroundings, we are also inviting them to explore and venture inward. In paying close attention to what is astounding about the outdoors, they also pay attention to their equally astounding inner selves.<\/p>\n<p>The same is true for everyone, not just youth: the woods invite us to slow down and to contemplate our experiences. In the same way that the individuals around us can highlight our understanding of ourselves, the woods awaken us to the possibility of exploring our inner motivations, dreams, ideals, and values. When Mary Oliver says that <em>the door to the woods is the door to the temple, <\/em>she invites us to experience the interconnectedness of all of these things\u200a\u2014\u200aphysical and spiritual\u200a\u2014\u200aand then gives us permission to explore our own position in the wider world. Today when you step outside, I hope you can take a moment to be mindful of your surroundings: c<em>lose your eyes, take some deep breaths, listen, feel, <\/em>and <em>connect.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I saw the power of this mindfulness firsthand last fall as an adventure trip leader in the mountains of West Virginia. I invited the kids to stop hiking, to disperse themselves along the trail, and to close their eyes. We spent five minutes in silence, and then I asked them what they heard, what they felt. They told me: birds, leaves rustling, running water, warm sunshine. Many of them were surprised by how much they could hear, and in particular how much they had missed simply because they weren\u2019t paying attention.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-6478 alignright lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/1_7Beve24u8_tFC2llqVKWcQ-640x483.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"437\" height=\"330\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 437px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 437\/330;\" \/>Specifically for those of you who I will meet as campers and leaders of the Four Trails program this summer, it\u2019s vital that you begin to connect, play, and reflect in the outdoors. There are unique challenges that being outdoors for 3, 5, and 6 weeks can offer. Consider ways that you can begin to prepare: <em>walk, run, cycle, hike, <\/em>once or twice a week if possible. While you do those things, I hope you\u2019ll have the chance to immerse yourself in the smallest details of spring\u200a\u2014\u200athe leaves as they begin to unfold, the bees and hummingbirds straying from one flower to the next.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, and in that spirit, I\u2019d like to offer an overarching invitation to all of us: as we leave winter behind and as spring fast approaches, let\u2019s take the opportunity to simply step outside. <em>Learn (or re-learn) your neighborhood, <\/em>Annie Dillard tells us. While we\u2019ve been indoors\u200a\u2014\u200abraced against the cold\u200a\u2014\u200athe world continued moving forward. With spring comes the opportunity to catch up with the world. See what you might\u2019ve missed in all those winter months. It\u2019s my hope that we\u2019ll find exactly what we\u2019re looking for\u200a\u2014\u200aa worldview shaped by gratitude and curiosity and by a belief in the power of our own unique capacities.<\/p>\n<p><em>Pay attention, listen, feel, connect.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all poems,<br \/>\nYou shall possess the good of the earth and sun\u2026there are millions of suns left.<br \/>\nI lean and loafe at my ease\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. observing a spear of summer\u00a0grass.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Walt Whitman, <em>Leaves of\u00a0Grass<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>By Andrew McIver, Miniwanca Four Trails Coordinator<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We don\u2019t matter much, but the children do. Show them daisies and the pale hepatica. Teach them the taste of sassafras and wintergreen\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. Give them the fields and the woods and the possibility of the world\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. Stand them in the stream, rejoice as they learn to love this green space they live in, its ticks and leaves, and then the &#8230; <\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/paying-attention-four-trails-four-folds\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":6480,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,58],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-6477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-updates","category-miniwanca","tag-miniwanca"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Paying Attention: Four Trails, Four\u00a0Folds - American Youth Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Paying attention in the outdoors can be a moment of reverence. 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