Re-calibrating Your Baseline

“I’d never camp if it was below 50 degrees!” (Fahrenheit) a student remarked at the end of a November Survival and Bushcraft Class (Phase 1). Then, he went on to say, “Now I’d have no problem doing it!” The reason? We’d had a cold snap, the temperature had dropped to 22 degrees Fahrenheit and the students were required to sleep in a temporary shelter using a wool blanket and the proximity of a fire to stay warm.   After this new experience, 50 degrees seemed ridiculously easy and he was comfortable mocking his own former softness in the outdoors.

Our baseline is what we have experienced in life up to this point. We have been to that point and no farther. But if we never challenge and deepen that baseline, we will remain weak and underdeveloped as a person, always shying away from new or difficult things out of fear of the unknown.

This is why so many experiences seem difficult to us at first, because we have never been through that level of hardship before. But after enduring and conquering the challenge, we look back on the experience as educational and even, sometimes, life changing! We are then prepared to take that experience and deepen it, searching for the limits of our endurance and skills.

Many are too comfortable with the armchair warrior experience.  To sit in the comfort of one’s home in front of a screen and let someone else have the adventure. But what they are missing out on is the thrill of living, the heated blood coursing through their veins and the rush of adrenaline that comes from conquering their fears.

When you are in the outdoors, and weather and circumstances are against you, Nature isn’t punishing you, it’s not trying to help you or hurt you, it’s simply indifferent to you. People sometimes call it Mother Nature to personify it. And while it is true that we are made out of the dust of the earth and so in a certain sense are born out of the earth’s womb, yet nature is not a person. Nature doesn’t care about your health, your skill level, or how nice of a person you are.  Nature just is.  So in order to endure what nature is doing, you have to learn to fit in with the modes of weather, the cycle of the seasons, the phases of the moon and your own inner rhythms.

Once you learn to go with the flow of things, you begin to enjoy all the nuances of the outdoor life. You will no longer be content to stay at home and be the critic with thumbs up or thumbs down.  It’s not good enough to observe and comment on others adventures.  Now, you begin to make plans, write gear lists and begin inventorying your own skill set.  And, when you finally set foot on that longed-for trail, the thrill of the day is all your own, and every experience you encounter deepens and strengthens your abilities. You will begin to understand the wisdom of the storm, the knowledge of the wind, the strength of the sun, the guidance of the moon, the brilliance of the stars. Every animal, bird, fish, rock, tree, shrub, and blade of grass speaks to you of life and beckons you to further study and reflection.

Spiritually speaking, we are called to endure hardships “As a good soldier of Jesus Christ” 2 Timothy 2:3.  Without struggle and trial, without enduring the challenges of life and the spiritual attacks of the enemy, we will never grow “strong in the Lord and in the power of His Might.” Ephesians 6:10. Many a person has spent their entire life trying to avoid difficulties and battles. However, in order to be a victorious, seasoned and battle-hardened warrior for Christ, we are going to have to have some hard times.  At first, the fight seems too long, too devastating to survive. The enemy tells you that you will never make it and that you might as well give up, retreat and go back to the comfort of the camp. But, if you will strengthen yourself in Christ, wear your spiritual armor and join the battle, you will find that victory is surely yours to claim! And the next time you face a similar challenge to your faith, you won’t simply back down or cower in fear, but you will confidently go forward to win the day. Why? Because you have successfully re-calibrated your baseline.

Thanks for reading!

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James B