My 13 year old son, Matthew, completed a 5 day bushcraft course last week. For him, the experience of being out in the wild was an exciting challenge, despite the fact that he had to cancel an activity he was really looking forward in order to attend.
It was a thrill to see him develop over the week and hear how many skills we hadn’t seen as parents were emerging when he was with his peers: a natural born leader, a caring individual, someone who ensured that every member of his team was involved and able to do what they’d been asked, a very good project manager.
I had the chance to attend part of one day and it was great to see them just get on with what they’d been taught earlier that week. I was amazed at how boys from very different backgrounds, abilities and confidence levels were able to work together in teams and produce great results: a shelter, light fires using nothing more than the natural materials around them, cook food, understand and adhere to safety procedures, respect each other, set up tarpaulins for emergency cover, use a range of different tools … the list goes on. Of course, a great deal of credit goes to Steve and Rob who ran the course, for their patience and belief in the boys. Their enthusiam and ability to encourage seemed endless and doubtless had a huge impact on all who attended.
Perhaps the biggest lesson that I learnt was how much is going on under the surface that we simply don’t see, either because we don’t want to or because we can’t. We make judgements based on dress, attitude, appearance, accent, the way they stand, the way they walk etc … and yet these are so biased towards our own personal likes and dislikes that we miss who they really are and what is their true character.
And we’ve bought a ‘dragon’s sneeze or firesteel as a momento and ‘useful’ item. So, the next time I see some of my books burning brightly as Matthew practices his fire-making skills I’ll try to think back to this past week and see some of the potential and what is going on underneath (then talk to him in a fatherly way!!).
Until next time …
Tags: breaking down barriers, building confidence, building relationships, bushcraft, confidence, cooking, creativity, dragon's sneeze, firelighting, firemaking, firesteel, friends, Friendship, friendships, leadership, making friends, outback project, personal development, prejudice, relationships, respect, self esteem, shelter building
