The desert, it still lingers, more than three years
since I’d completed that 7-day BOSS (Boulder Outdoor Survival School) Field Course in southern Utah. (Yes, that’s
Boulder, Utah.) In fact, with the passage of time, that which lingers has
become that which beckons.
Since that wondrous, life-changing week (see my
previous posts: introduction, physical, mental, spiritual), there have been two
significant developments regarding BOSS. First, around the end of 2017, BOSS
became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which reflected its long-term focus
on education and its origin 50 years ago in an educational institution (Brigham
Young University). Second, in 2018, the land on which BOSS is located and which
it had been leasing was put on the market for sale. BOSS decided to buy the
land and give the school a permanent home. For me, both are very positive
developments.
So, when BOSS reached out to alumni and friends to
help pay down the loan principal, I was more than happy to contribute to the
overall effort. It's analogous to an investment--sort of. Obviously, it’s not
ownership in the sense of (legally) owning a part of an entity. But it is ownership
in the sense of being a part of that entity and a part of the BOSS extended
family, for which the land that BOSS now owns is home away from home. Instead
of growth in share value, the ROI here is something much more valuable: growth
in self, growth in the BOSS family, and growth in the BOSS mission--all made
more possible now by home ownership.
What is the BOSS mission? From its Web site: “The Boulder Outdoor Survival School is dedicated to the
instruction and preservation of traditional living skills and the development
of people through experiences within the natural world.” One of its core
philosophies is “Know more, carry less”—which nicely aligns with my inclination
towards minimalism in running. (There—there’s the connection with running! 😊)
For me, implicit in that mission statement is stewardship—a
continuous thread that connects individuals to shared communities and connects
all to a shared natural world. In this stewardship, BOSS is an oasis. This is especially
so, viewed from where I am, where, over the past couple years, dark rancid ugliness has been spewing non-stop from what should be the People’s
House. Just one recent example, from almost literally the backyard of BOSS: Breakup and redrawing the boundaries of the Grand Staircase Escalante
National Monument (areal reduction of about 50%) and the Bears Ears National
Monument (85% reduction). And for what? For some fossil fuel companies to be
able to extract more of what needs to be kept in the ground.
So, please contribute—to yourself. Sign up for a field course. Be a part of the community of BOSS.
Be a steward for yourself first. And then be a steward
for your shared community and for our shared world. Please join us and help expand and nurture the BOSS community. "Être fort pour être utile"!
