To Serve, To Strive and Not to Yield
"To Serve with Honour, To Strive for Excellence, and Not to Yield Under Pressure"
That is the motto of Outward Bound, Malaysia, and truly I discovered its truth in every challenge that was put before us in the Outward Bound School. I spent the last two weeks in Lumut, Perak, which turned out to be, beyond the shadow of doubt, the best days of my life. Words will never be enough to share my experiences and feelings throught my time here, but I will try my best to sum them up in a poem.
Reflections in Outward Bound,Malaysia
Two weeks have come,
Fourteen days have gone,
The best days of my life.
Days of forgotten dreams fulfilled,
Pushing beyond limits made me thrilled.
A feat for two in a little yellow canoe,
Twenty two kilometres under the sky with various hues,
The sea displayed different characters along the way,
With patience and determination,
My partner and I braved the waves.
The corals beneath were marvelous,
The majestic eagles soared above,
The beauty of life is just undeniably too wondeful.
The next challenge was jungle tracking,
A haversack, tent sheets, a gallon of water and ration,
Carrying a bag bigger than my size,
Could only be accomplished with motivation.
Five kilometres on foot,
To the highest peak in Lumut,
Was terribly exhausting,
But together we achieved,
And that was remarkably something.
An uncertain journey without a guide can be disastrous,
A good leader is like a highly sought diamond,
But only with willing followers,
does it sparkle with elegance,
and shine in darkness,
in the midst of chaos,
and light up days of triumph.
The whaler was an experience totally anew,
With 8 oars power, sails and an anchor,
15 on board, Aye, Aye, Sir, set sail the crew!
The winds were not in favour,
Time and tide waits for no man,
The heavy oars were not my service to deliver,
I controlled the jib sail where I could stand,
While the rest pulled the oars in labour.
One, dip, pull up! I sang loud to rythm,
One of a kind for a call command,
For the oarsmen to oar in unison.
My tune was quickly caught by all,
On our presentation night when we lulled our theme song,
Our unique pirate like ochestra,
The director commended as original.
Camping was always part of our expeditions,
A life back to basics made friends our brothers,
We cooked our meals and ate rationed food together,
Set up tents with seafront view and shared limited shelter,
We endeavoured both low and high times as a team,
I'll never forget the day a guy 'stole' for a night,
my tights of leaves design in striking green.
Funny moments make us laugh,
To forget all troubles that never last.
Rock climbing and rope course was no less challenging,
The giant ladder, hour glass, bell and free falling,
Showed hidden meanings of life,
And the great importance of trusting.
It's can be difficult to hang in mid air,
Even knowing that we are securely held,
But the greater responsibility comes in being a belayer,
Knowing your strenghth holds your friend's trust and fear.
The final challenge was solo camping,
Setting up my own tent, collecting firewood and making my own camp fire,
Was an experience undescribably exciting.
As I attempted to boil water in my mess tin,
I didn't realized a group of monkeys,
In silence ambushed me from above the trees,
My heart was racing but remembered the advice,
Stay calm and ignore and they'll soon depart.
I fanned my fire into flames,
And the heat soon chased them away.
The night passed terribly slowly,
I could not sleep a wink with my tent securely covered,
Causing me to sweat but I'd rather have that way,
Than to attract undesired creatures and insects.
Nevertheless I loved every moment of it,
A little bit of solitude is good for the soul,
The feeling of independance is as valuable as gold.
All in all I thought and learnt a lot,
Phrases and words linked to nature that I used in the past,
Even Scriptures and analogies in the Bible,
Now leave me with more meaning and deeper comprehension.
It is true that a journey with nature shows you the Creator,
Not only to know Him but also our own self better.
God designed us just the way we are,
With strenghts and weaknesses,
That are made perfect by His grace,
With a complementary effect that gives each team member,
A special and unique role only he could to play.
In front of the sea to lay on the sand,
With the sound of splashing waves and company of friends,
To watch the sunset in its glory,
With picturesque island scenery,
Made me feel complete.
To ease myself the middle of the sea,
And see jelly fish and squids swim by,
To bathe in the river and pee behind trees,
To feel small like Nemo in the open sea,
And like Frodo with the Ring,
On a path where the end cannot be seen,
Is something money can never buy,
A lesson that purpose comes with a price.
I may be small,
I may be weak,
But the heart and soul can bring me,
To greater heights I never thought I could reach.
There are places and faces I'll remember all my life,
These two weeks have given me the best of those,
Memories that I'll cherish forever,
God's love that will leave me never.
