In an essay for NPR’s segment This I Believe, Phil Powers the executive director of the American Alpine Club described some wisdom that was shared with him by an “old mountain Climber named Paul Petzholdt” who advised Phil to “rest in the middle of each step completely, but briefly.”  This rest step is a way of pacing oneself, as a way of being mindful of the moment within each moment.  It is profound wisdom that can be applied to all aspects of life.

Life in school is often harried and it’s the relationships that get short-changed most often. I know myself, that there are times when I am tired and emotionally drained and a student acts out as a way of expressing a need or desire. The rest step mode allows me to pause ever so slightly, re-focus and remember the purpose of why I am standing before that student being the one he or she is seeking out.  At the closing of Phil Power’s essay he writes:

There is magic in any faith. Every once in a while, rushing about, my belief in pace rises up, slows me down and grants me a view of a sunset, a smile from a stranger or a conversation with a child. I owe these moments to what I learned from an old mountain climber and have practiced ever since.

Finding myself in the canyons

In 1999 I attended a five day intensive training in the canyon lands of Cortez, Colorado on setting up and facilitating a soul/nature based group experience. A few times during the week, we hiked behind the retreat center where we were staying and followed the trail up to some beautiful and amazing cave dwellings.  At the end of the week when the training ended, I stayed an extra night because of my travel arrangements.  After everyone left, I decided to hike up to the caves one more time on my own. It was in the winter at about 4:40 in the late afternoon and I knew I had about ninety minutes of daylight to complete my hike.

I followed the trail up the caves, stopping along the way to take in the beauty of the canyon country on a crisp winter’s afternoon.  After 15 minutes at the caves, I headed back down the trail.   As I hiked back, I became disoriented and lost track of which way the trail went. I turned around a couple of times and began to feel nervous and scared.  At this point the sun was setting and darkness and decreased temperatures were creeping in.  Just as I felt my fear turning into panic, I took a break, sat down, and looked around me. It was a peaceful setting and  I centered myself as I scanned the terrain slowly with my eyes.  Suddenly the trail which had become so familiar during the week, showed itself to me. Much relieved, I followed it down without incident and thanked the canyon for showing me the way. This rest step experience was significant because it taught me that whenever I feel lost, the place or person I seem to be lost in, can show me where I need to go if I give it a chance.

The Rest Step can also provide a moment in which one can challenge old beliefs and archaic approaches to what we do every day.  Even those practices that once served us well, may best be altered and reshaped to match the rapidly changing events of the world today.  With resonance comes fluidity and with fluidity comes new paths, changing directions and changing tides.  If you think of a boat moving on a straight continuum on the sea and it changes its course by three degrees, initially the change won’t be noticeable or subtle at best. Over time however, the trajectory of the boat will be following a completely different course.