By Stephen C. Schultz
The dull roar was everywhere. It penetrated your
soul to the core. It was immediate and unmistakable as I got out of the car. It
had been a while since I had visited this particular location. I happened to be
in Oregon with a colleague and partner, Shawn Brooks. We were scheduled to
present the next day at the Northwest Regional NATSAP conference in Bend,
Oregon.
Shawn exited the car, stretched and looked around.
The thunderous sound and thick humid air surrounded us. Shawn immediately said,
“Is that the falls?”
Sahalie Falls is one of those places that truly demonstrate
the majesty of nature. There is a “peace” amongst the raw power and force of
the water as it cascades over the falls. As I stood on the trail mesmerized by
the turquoise blue water and emerald green ferns along the bank, I realized that
the “peace” I was sensing was a “peace” that resounded deeply in my soul. It
was a “peace” of familiarity, a “peace” that was born of home. It was as if I
was wrapped in a blanket of belonging by the tender needles of the springtime
growth on the large Douglas Fir trees reaching towards the sky.
Now, as much as I like to relive that experience at
Sahalie Falls in my mind, and many more memories of my childhood growing up in
Oregon, I am reluctantly brought back to the rigors of everyday life. There are the daily tasks associated with a
growing and expanding business. There are the constant emotional waters of
family relationships that need to be navigated. There is the heart wrenching
parental concerns of a young daughter struggling to make sense of the fact that
she has a seizure disorder when all she really wants is to simply be “Normal”.
There are the joys associated with a teenage son making a healthy and
responsible transition into young adulthood.
As we move through this earthly event called “Life”,
where do we place our energy and attention? Do we find ourselves being tossed
to and fro by the winds of daily tasks, or do we follow the wisdom of the Yiddish proverb;
“You
can't control the wind, but you can adjust your sails.”
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