Maslow, what are you doing here?

I'm currently sitting in the local library watching my 26 minutes of remaining computer time slowly dwindle. I've biked into town today (about a 15-20 minute ride) and have decided to explore this tiny little town known as Saranac Lake. I sat by one of the little lakes and ate my salad as I watched the fancy water boats zip by. It is so beautiful here! While biking, I recognized a certain frangrance I was long ago acquainted with. It is the smell of deep, coniferous woods in the summer, the scent I recognize from my childhood time spent in the Red Wood Forest of Northern California. I am continually being bombarded with new sites, tastes, smells, sounds and textures.

Today begins my official first day off. I've spent five days in the woods, two days in "Positive Control System" training, and one day learning about blood born pathogens and other important medical knowledge. And yet I am still not done! I will soon go through CPR/First Aid/WFA (Wilderness First Aid) training. But for now I am taking a break from it all and simply being. My five days in the woods turned out to truly be quite an adventure. The whole point of our time hiking (more like bush whacking) was for us to experience first hand what the students go through in this program. I think this is a brilliant idea because not only does it allow us to empathize with them on a deeper level but it also prevents us from abusing our power as field instructors because we know their pain! I have never hiked as far, hard or long as I did over those five days. But I was even more shocked over the emotional discomfort I experienced. Have you heard of Abraham Maslow? He is a famous psychologist who created the concept of a hierarchy of needs. Imagine a pyramid. The bottom layer consists of our basic need for survival including food, shelter, sleep, etc. Then it continues with safety; resources, health, property. Then to love/belonging, then esteem, then at the tippy top is self-actualization.

I wasn't actually sure if my schooling would come in handy (don't tell my parents) but it has! Wherever I was at on this pyramid before this adventure, well, it was stripped away. I was back to step 1: physical needs. It completely threw me off. But more than my time in the woods, this time in my life has proven to take me back to level one. I have no form of transportation other than my blistered feetsies, I know very few people in this new place, I don't even know how to get around town. My cell phone barely works at the place I am staying at and I have no computer. Ok, I know I'm sounding slightly whiny at this point but I want to be realistic with you. I feel that other than the clothes on my back, I have nothing other than the Lord. And it is surprisingly discomforting. I don't even have a pillow. Ok, for real I'll stop whining. My point is that I have to trust trust trust. I have to trust that someone will give me a ride to the grocery store to get food. I have to trust that tonight there will still be room in the cabin for me (don't worry ma, I have a tent). And it is hard my friends! But I do believe that in this way God has been given much room to move. I look forward to the divine and spontaneous conversations I will have with people I don't know. I look forward to being forced to trust that every minute of my day is planned out by God even if I have no idea what I will be eating tonight (don't worry ma, I have rice and spinach). And ultimately, I look forward to understanding His provision within and outside of Maslow's pyramid.

Love, La Loba