You won’t find it under the duvet!

The first in a series of January blogs about Resilience.

Lying in bed at 3am this morning listening to the wind howling through the open bedroom window, and snuggling deeper into my winter duvet, took my mind to a place of gratitude.

I wondered how hard life might be for communities and individuals without the comforts of solid shelter, plentiful food and warm bedding.

I will probably spend most of the day inside – warm, fed and watered. And if I venture out it will be a quick dash, covered and under a hood pulled down as far as it will go…. isolated from everyone and protected from the elements. Winter.

An alien sense of reliance

Then my thoughts meandered to considering how I will withdraw from my community once business, work and socialising are done. Today. And most days. Shut in behind my doors and curtains, with my wife, isolated again, supposedly self-sufficient.

Thoughts of how this might be considered alien to some people around the world… not to have to co-operate on a daily basis to gain the basics of life. This strange notion that we are free from needing others. How easy to forget that we are group beings.

It’s not fluff, it’s stand-out stuff

This is what we do. We craft Resilience programmes which encourage connection, collaboration and community.

Nothing fluffy. Nothing beige. Our impactful work starts and finishes where it matters most for our clients – in the workplace, boardroom, sports field, or expedition.

Yet we are passionate about the power of communal living and outdoor experiences as part of the developmental journey.

Connecting, collaborating, and creating community is a forgotten part of who we all really are. And so we help groups discover common purpose, new ways of thinking and acting together, and huge untapped internal resources.

So often I hear that these experiences are the stand-out moments of people’s year, even their lives.That’s what gets me out from under my duvet.

Dom
Dominic Rudd
Director of Adventure Programmes
The Fresh Air Learning Company Ltd