OBSTACLES

"How are we going to get through that?" That is the archetypal question all followers ask their leaders when facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles. It was the question my nine-year-old daughter asked my 78-year-old father as she looked warily at the jagged bolder field blocking our way to the summit of Jackass Pass in the Wind River Range of Wyoming.

We were all getting nervous because it had already taken us too long to break camp and pack up the horses that morning. We had a four-hour hike and a three-hour horseback ride ahead of us just to get back to the truck, and then a seven-hour drive home. I just sat back and watched the interaction because I knew how it would turn out.

My daughter and her grandpa are the ideal blend of the energy and daring of youth and the experience and perspective of age. She listened carefully to her grandfather's instructions and then literally skipped from one bolder to the next. Her leader was a seasoned mountaineer, having climbed high peaks around the world. The advice he gave his grandaughter is equally relevant for any team facing obstacles… “Stay together, keep your balance, and never lose sight of the summit.”