Time files and the course of Adventure Based Counseling has come to an end. It’s probably one of my favorite courses I have ever taken in this 2.5-year university life. The course allows me to have real changes, most of which are different. How come changes seem to be different? What does it mean? How does it affect me? Too many things happened. To me it is necessary to figure it out altogether again, just after this period is being over. The course is over, whereas I personally have been ever first push myself onto such a challenging status in mind, representing another milestone appearing in my life.
Relationships of the past, present and future helps in understanding my significant self, including my motivation, feeling, and self-esteem, in order to better give and receive changing in healthy ways. What did I do? What am I doing? What will I do? All these are the question people have to ask themselves. I view the things I did in the past as a contrast to what I have done during adventure. What about beyond adventure? What’s next? The future outcome will always turn out to be the most valuable issue. It is advisable the participants equip themselves for gripping such a precious opportunity to bring themselves one step closer to the dignitarial life, as a result of valuable adventure. So writing this essay has its merit and I think that’s why we are told to do so. I personally interpret this essay as a personal written account, which is more of a mean of expanding and corroborating my individual growth than just a source of data in myself [2]. Writing what I feel allows me to figure out and reveal a greater depth of understanding about my own response to a specific context and to the whole experience.
So what exactly is experience to me? I have been told tens of various definitions. After interpretation I would like to state it as which create, provide and invent knowledge for the future. Why do we long for so-called valuable experience? The valuable experience is viewed as such because it is distinguished from traditional knowledge, which sometimes is attainable by reason alone. It is merely a kind of priori knowledge, whilst knowledge based upon experience is called a posteriori knowledge [3]. The learning from valuable experience could be a bit ideal and it still would be fine. After that I learn what I want, what I need, and what actually I am insisting on. That’s what I could come up with at present. But of course the issues are not just that simple. Experiential learning offers adversity. The appearance of adversity usually turns out to be an expansion of comfort zone, allowing me to rearrange the belief of life and its preference, mending some of my unconstructive habitats, leaving meaningless boundary and persistence, and even making a brand new choice of direction of life and focus. In the past, the faith on my religion was not that tough. The situation had not been changed regardless of how much related books read. I was tired of figuring it out, just because I lacked one single element in my concept i.e. the faith, which is able to solidify my religionary knowledge, concepts, ideas. I emphasize it as the high peak experience in this short journey of adventure based counseling.
Debriefing the experience is to shift an experience beyond just learning by doing. The major reason of debriefing is to allow participants the opportunity to integrate their learning. I have a sense of closure or completeness of my experience. In order for myself to take what I have experienced and use it effectively in own present daily life, I have to think about it and interpret its meaning, significance for myself [1]. I gradually learn how to expand the learning potential via the reflection and some application steps taught. The results of each challenge come to life every time when I could ask myself appropriate questions to initialize thinking and even mediation. I found this part significantly crucial since it helps me explore the activities from my own perspectives, generalizing to my own life and see how to apply what I have learned in the future, which help reach the goal we set at present; otherwise, things turn out to be meaningless and much of the benefits would be lost. Let’s keep asking ourselves “How can I apply the life skill that you practiced in the near future?”
So I think it is a good chance to answer this question here. However, first, at present, let’s have my future goal set, at the time when the trust has been built and becomes accessible. Well, I don’t know goal setting will give me long-term vision or merely short-term motivation. I at least, however, know precisely what I want to achieve and what I have to concentrate on and improve. I fail to recall any of my dreams I had when I was a kid. But I know how many I have accomplished. None of them. Whatever, I am looking forward to those coming. Well, partnership seemed not to be significant to me in the past. I built up most of the ideas and decisions on self-centered basic, seldom concerning other people’s aid, in terms no matter of games or works. Actually I didn’t know partnership is not that simple. Neither did I try to step out of my comfort zone. I was always confining myself inside a groan zone and struggling. Although it is likely to enhance my capability of rivalry, I lost many, which I found turned out not to be worth. I am confident that I don’t lack of personal competence while now I need more belongingness in the community, in the partnership and among the buddies. I will raise more concern and awareness on people who are fighting for the same things, sharing the same views and the same exact belief. During adventure based counseling, teammates which are working together to overcome tasks and even risks research their common goal and target. The existence of small teams provides me with safe environment, supportive atmosphere as well as positive model when facing challenges and risks. Partnership is a power anyway.
After a few times of challenging activities beforehand, I was inspired with the hope of insisting on faith. As stressed in the last two reflection papers, faith is now the most critical element in my spirit. Faith can enhance courage and confidence, as well as breaking down my boundary, which is in turn built by fragility of faith. Adventures in life are of various types. In normal life we are facing adventures, and then there must be mental pressure and the pressure of risks. From now onwards, my mentation become different, and I will keep trying to obtain my peak experience by my somewhat equipped senses.
The present is still my wallow in my lovely nature. Humankind in fact belongs to the nature. The nature is our mother and calling us to return, and enjoy her space, her nurture and healing, enabling us to become gentle and mild again and to recalling our amaze and respect to lives.
Challenge by choice! This is just to remind me that I am not going to indoctrinate other people, forcing or urging them into any situation. I am also reminded that it is my own choice. Challenge in the future depends. I can’t tell any. But why do I have to concern with the future at this moment? It is because although challenge is real, the real doesn’t happen all at once. It takes a rather long time. That is the reason why the real is not often beneficial to people who break easily, or who have to be kept carefully. But 50 years later, at the time when I get loose joints, I eyes become out of focus, and my hair drop off, I shall not think it’s a big deal because once you are handsome you can’t be ugly, except to the stupid who don’t understand. (1350 words)
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Monday, November 01, 2004
High Event Challenge Day
I was significantly amazed at a time when I first arrived at the campsite, looking up towards the sky and founding two equipped guys climbing up onto two huge woody pillars. “Excuse me? Are we supposed to do it in the same way? It must be joking…” I muttered away to myself. People’s feeling had no differences from mine, more or less, as which I could interpret their facial and verbal expression. The night before the event I just read the notice delivered to prepare for it. The event was so-called “High Event Challenge Day”, with the formats including many challenge, collaboration as well as inspiration. At the beginning I was so attracted as the title of the event insisted in “high” level, compared with the “low” one which has already, however, induced my illumination of my faith for every single current situation and the much prospect for future life with a definable purpose and target. I was satisfied but in fact I expected and looked forward to it much more this time.
The day was properly divided into two sessions, namely the morning session and the afternoon session, which was arranged on game-based. Actually in total 3 part of games. My group, similar to the other two groups, joined two of them, in which one of them consisted of two sub-games for us to select while the others were preferentially assigned, were available. At the beginning I wondered at the considerately great difficulties of the games accounting for courage and physical strength. I was not worrying about my ability to deal with them but my fellas, in particular the ladies. All ladies in my group were my classmates being studying together from more than 2 years and I understand them well. But anyway they are brilliant. Everybody at that time was taking it easy. However, since it was “high” event, instructors gave a clear briefing of that day’s programmes as a routine interest very seriously and audients were all seriously listening.
The first game began. Our instructor first gave a speech, letting us look into details of the tasks we were facing. I know my bad. I am a terribly poor listener. I used not to pay attention to what people are talking. But I knew I had to, at least this time, once the instructor warned us, “Your buddies’ lives is now in your hand. Grab it hard!” Oh he is right. I was reminded that I was not having an individual show but was cooperating with my friends, my fellas. Most the time when a person places himself into the society, he is not alone. Everybody ought to insist on high accountability and respect to the others, regardless of whether he is leading or being lead. I am forcing myself to become a proper listener, telling myself and others, “Those who don’t care about fellas are even worse than a good-for-nothing.”
The first game focused on collaboration. Two people grouped together and helping each other to climb up to the Giant Ladder which consists of sever steps, some 2 meters separated from one another. My partner, Sharon and I was the last sub-group to climb. At the beginning we set a goal with comprise. At last our subgroup showed a successful performance. I was so delighted not only because I did it, but also because my partner said during evaluation that she really trusts me. I always bear it mind that individual showing up is definitely not a big deal. The skills how you facilitate people in your group, which outcome could not and should never reply on whoever, must be most concerned in a team work. I never viewed my delicate partner as a burden; I never blame her for hitting my face with her legs for several times when she was stepping on me to climb up. Indeed, she was facilitating our entire progress during such a successful partnership. There is a trust building between each other. A simple claim of “supporter ready” virtually will show its magical effect in participants’ heart. Moreover, at the time when I was trying to climb up to the fourth level I was so diffident and I didn’t think I could do it. At that moment my self-confident shrunk, but I had the incredibly strong faith to do, to try. Ultimately I got it. People break through their boundary in the encouraging and supporting atmosphere. The so-called self-utmost a person could figure out is a fake due to fragile faith. Personally faith is more crucial than confidence. The former is the ultimate element that brings great breakthrough. It’s my peak experience this time.
On the other hand, I call for experience because the best learning measure is to experience. Before I climbed I had been the string holders for 3 rounds, offering me many experiences and letting me know I was not just to hold the string, but in fact properly enhancing climbers in my group to keep going up. As a result, I frequently kept giving signals to my string holder and asking for help when necessary. That’s why experiential learning, stressing that participants learn in a situation at a real environment and improving the ability of self-examination via experience has its merit.
Certainly people with different thinking will have different feeling for the same experience. The 2nd game was abseiling in the afternoon. Abseiling seems to be the “highest” task there. Participants abseiled with a string down to the ground floor from the roof of a 6-floor tall building. Most of us had never did it beforehand. But I just viewed it as a simple game. I was tired and thus I rather let others to play first so that I could take a rest. They played one by one. Every time when a teammate was abseiling down people kept shouting to support him and applauded when he completed. This kind of encouragement is touching our heart; otherwise things would turn out to be less meaningful. During debriefing, I learned that most of us appreciate the support from teammates and see it as the point for their success.
I did better than I could expect. This is due to my strong faith in mind, in heart. I got it from this high event, which brings my faith one steps to a more advanced level. Experiential learning actually could be interpreted as a positive scene of a mini-society, revealing a nature with an affirmation, a convincing support by mean of various types of beneficial experiences. The appreciation made by participants, including me, all evolves from heart by experiencing others’ care and by feeling which in turn convinces life change.
I have new dignitarial experience.
The day was properly divided into two sessions, namely the morning session and the afternoon session, which was arranged on game-based. Actually in total 3 part of games. My group, similar to the other two groups, joined two of them, in which one of them consisted of two sub-games for us to select while the others were preferentially assigned, were available. At the beginning I wondered at the considerately great difficulties of the games accounting for courage and physical strength. I was not worrying about my ability to deal with them but my fellas, in particular the ladies. All ladies in my group were my classmates being studying together from more than 2 years and I understand them well. But anyway they are brilliant. Everybody at that time was taking it easy. However, since it was “high” event, instructors gave a clear briefing of that day’s programmes as a routine interest very seriously and audients were all seriously listening.
The first game began. Our instructor first gave a speech, letting us look into details of the tasks we were facing. I know my bad. I am a terribly poor listener. I used not to pay attention to what people are talking. But I knew I had to, at least this time, once the instructor warned us, “Your buddies’ lives is now in your hand. Grab it hard!” Oh he is right. I was reminded that I was not having an individual show but was cooperating with my friends, my fellas. Most the time when a person places himself into the society, he is not alone. Everybody ought to insist on high accountability and respect to the others, regardless of whether he is leading or being lead. I am forcing myself to become a proper listener, telling myself and others, “Those who don’t care about fellas are even worse than a good-for-nothing.”
The first game focused on collaboration. Two people grouped together and helping each other to climb up to the Giant Ladder which consists of sever steps, some 2 meters separated from one another. My partner, Sharon and I was the last sub-group to climb. At the beginning we set a goal with comprise. At last our subgroup showed a successful performance. I was so delighted not only because I did it, but also because my partner said during evaluation that she really trusts me. I always bear it mind that individual showing up is definitely not a big deal. The skills how you facilitate people in your group, which outcome could not and should never reply on whoever, must be most concerned in a team work. I never viewed my delicate partner as a burden; I never blame her for hitting my face with her legs for several times when she was stepping on me to climb up. Indeed, she was facilitating our entire progress during such a successful partnership. There is a trust building between each other. A simple claim of “supporter ready” virtually will show its magical effect in participants’ heart. Moreover, at the time when I was trying to climb up to the fourth level I was so diffident and I didn’t think I could do it. At that moment my self-confident shrunk, but I had the incredibly strong faith to do, to try. Ultimately I got it. People break through their boundary in the encouraging and supporting atmosphere. The so-called self-utmost a person could figure out is a fake due to fragile faith. Personally faith is more crucial than confidence. The former is the ultimate element that brings great breakthrough. It’s my peak experience this time.
On the other hand, I call for experience because the best learning measure is to experience. Before I climbed I had been the string holders for 3 rounds, offering me many experiences and letting me know I was not just to hold the string, but in fact properly enhancing climbers in my group to keep going up. As a result, I frequently kept giving signals to my string holder and asking for help when necessary. That’s why experiential learning, stressing that participants learn in a situation at a real environment and improving the ability of self-examination via experience has its merit.
Certainly people with different thinking will have different feeling for the same experience. The 2nd game was abseiling in the afternoon. Abseiling seems to be the “highest” task there. Participants abseiled with a string down to the ground floor from the roof of a 6-floor tall building. Most of us had never did it beforehand. But I just viewed it as a simple game. I was tired and thus I rather let others to play first so that I could take a rest. They played one by one. Every time when a teammate was abseiling down people kept shouting to support him and applauded when he completed. This kind of encouragement is touching our heart; otherwise things would turn out to be less meaningful. During debriefing, I learned that most of us appreciate the support from teammates and see it as the point for their success.
I did better than I could expect. This is due to my strong faith in mind, in heart. I got it from this high event, which brings my faith one steps to a more advanced level. Experiential learning actually could be interpreted as a positive scene of a mini-society, revealing a nature with an affirmation, a convincing support by mean of various types of beneficial experiences. The appreciation made by participants, including me, all evolves from heart by experiencing others’ care and by feeling which in turn convinces life change.
I have new dignitarial experience.
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