Last weekend I got to spend a couple of days with a great group of people, from all over, learning the foundations of “Leave No Trace” so we can implement and share these “principles of outdoor ethics” with others. Well, yesterday, (finally!) the sun came out and began to slowly dry the land after all the rain. I went for a wonderfully-long hike in the woods, at last. I also got the opportunity to not only evaluate several backcountry behaviors of my own but also share my new skills with several other hikers.
Gold Mine Creek
Of course, suggesting that one modify their behavior can be challenging in any situation. Not that I want to go around looking for ways to correct people, but sometimes, (ok many times, myself included) we just do not realize how our actions are affecting others or our pristine wild places. I am so grateful for the opportunities to learn how to mindfully and compassionately exist in this world where there are so many more people sharing public space than ever before. My first opportunity, I would have to say, I did a “fair” job, at best.
In “Leave No Trace” training, there is actually a logical and systematic formula for offering alternative actions, in a friendly way. However, in all forms of communication throughout life, it really isn’t usually WHAT you are saying so much as HOW you are saying it. Oh, boy has THIS been a re-occurring theme in my life!
I was hiking along the trail, and a dog came running up to me, off-leash. I was startled, as has been my customary manner, but I tried to be friendly and point out to the man that it was a park rule that dogs must be on a leash at all times. I explained that loose dogs often chase and molest wildlife, as well as scare the sh%t out of (some) humans. I was friendly and wished them a good hike. I could tell he was none too happy to hear my admonition, regardless of who or what his dog was scaring, and grumbled a response to me as he and his son walked away.
After moving on, I thought about what had transpired to see how I could “improve” this situation in the future. After all, I want to impart education and inspiration to people on the trail, not irritate them! I thought this was important to figure out since more and more people seem to have dogs on the trail than ever before. Well, having “stories” of several situations where my life honestly felt threatened by wild dogs, plus countless negative interactions that have ensued in the past years because I allowed myself to be triggered by [my story about] dogs, I see now has never served me. In the past, I would feel intense fear, which would then trigger them to react in their primal and instinctual manner and become more aggressive toward me than they would have otherwise.
I identified that it wasn’t the mere presence of dogs that activated my fear, it was dogs that were running toward me that triggered fear. Well, hello!…. Any untrained dog could run toward humans and it doesn’t mean they want to knock them down and maul them! I have actually seen this pattern within me numerous times, but I always felt helpless to do anything about it.
So, how do we control our fears?
Well, I soon got my opportunity again. Several miles later, another dog comes running up to me, off-leash. (HA! Thank you, Universe for all the learning opportunities!) I can hear its human calling to the pit bull enthusiastically headed straight for me, but he was far behind his swift four-footed friend. I felt the usual panic and then, suddenly, it went away. It felt like a light came on. I knew that I was allowing my past STORIES about dogs to affect me in the present moment. My fear vanished, and I was able to have a genuinely friendly conversation with the couple about the sixth and the seventh “Leave No Trace” principles, which are “Respect Wildlife” and “Be Considerate of other Visitors,” respectively.
This experience has been a huge lesson for me lately, as I have been diving deeper into the Four Agreements (a wonderfully, inspiring book by Don Miguel Ruiz) that teaches us to “Be impeccable with our word,” in the first agreement. And this simply means to me, to identify when I am creating a story around something that has happened, and then attaching an emotion around it, which was, in this case, terror. I see that I can choose to NOT associate this emotion with dogs because of my past experiences, and trust that I am always safe and guided in life.
I am grateful for this path of ease and grace, where we can all learn to play well together!
