A Long Summer Afternoon

It was just another hot summer day as the boys set off on an adventure in the woods at the edge of town. Willie, Freddie, Little Joe, and Tommy had grown up together and spent many hours exploring those woods. For them, it was a place of mystery and wonder. But today, they were going deeper than they had ever gone before. They headed beyond the old cabin at the center of the woods.

 

As usual, Willie was the one who took charge even before they set out. He was not a born leader. To be honest, Willie was just bossy. He liked telling everybody what to do. They let him do his thing until he became irritating. Then a little wrestling and mutiny would bring him back in line.

 

Freddie was the peacemaker. He wanted everyone to get along and did not like the back-and-forth playful cruelty that the other boys enjoyed. Otherwise, he was a good guy.

 

Little Joe was anything but little. He was bigger than the rest and could pin the others in a wrestling match. But he was usually easygoing. But they knew not to make him mad. If they did, it would take all of them to calm him down and could involve sitting on him.

 

Then there was Tommy. He was the smart guy. He believed that he knew everything there was to know. And when things got complicated, we always turned to him to sort things out. Otherwise, he was just a know-it-all that got on their nerves.

 

Willie began the great adventure by saying, "Ok guys, let's go down by the creek and cut across the field." They all nodded, and the journey began. These were the last "normal" moments of the day.

 

It started when they reached the creek. It was not the usual few inches of water. Something happened upstream, and several feet of raging rapids filled the ordinarily calm stream. 

 

Little Joe spoke up. "There is an old tree upstream that crosses the creek. It is big enough to hold us." They liked the sound of doing a little tree walking. Off they went. After ten minutes, they found the old log and made their way across. Little Joe went first. They figured if it held him, then the rest of them would be ok.

 

Unfortunately, once across, they found themselves on unfamiliar ground. The great debate started. "Let's go downstream and get back to our trail.", suggested Freddie.

 

"That's a waste of time. Let's just head out. We'll find the field." assured Willie.

 

Tommy chimed in, suggesting they explore the creek and see if there is another trail? Nobody liked that idea.

 

Finally, Little Joe just started walking, making a new trail as best he could. And it was then that the arguing began.

 

"Do you know where you are going?" asked Willie. "No, but none of you do either. So, it doesn't matter, does it?" replied Little Joe. Freddie let things be and stepped in behind Little Joe. He worried that they would get lost but was not going to say anything. They wouldn't listen anyway. They all followed, not knowing what else to do.

 

After an hour of pushing back the brush and fighting off the bugs, it became clear that they were now completely lost. The bickering grew, and they grew impatient with one another. They were too busy blaming each other to sit down and sort through the problem. Each boy took control and led them in a different direction. They were going in circles and hadn't found the cabin or anything else that looked familiar. They were tired, hungry, and frustrated.

 

When they stumbled on a small clearing, they sat down, more from weariness than anything else. 

 

The great debate picked up in both tempo and volume. But the boys were not listening to one another. They were not listening to the voices inside their own heads. Their emotions were in charge, mainly fear and ego. Yelling pushed aside good ideas—all except for Freddie.

 

Freddie had been quiet since getting shouted down about finding a new trail. When he finally chimed in, a soft, calm voice said, "We will have to work together if we are going to get home tonight." The others stopped yelling to hear him, and the miracle happened. They started to listen to him, one another, and the voices in their head and heart.  

 

Tommy said he would climb a tree and see what he could see. They found one nearby and watched as Tommy went from branch to branch. Little Joe could never get up that tree, and the rest could not climb like Tommy. He was always a good climber.

 

After reaching the top, he shouted down that he could see the old water tower at the edge of town. Willie added, "The road to town runs by that water tower!" Freddie said, "We got plenty of time to get home before supper." Little Joe agreed to bust a new path if Tommy kept them on target by checking the Sun. Tommy agreed. They had listened to one another, and now they had a plan.  

 

Little Joe took off, crashing through the brush. Tommy kept him on course. Willie followed along behind, giving Little Joe instructions about clearing a trail. Meanwhile, Freddie followed behind, listening to the birds, and was satisfied that everything would be ok. They found the road that ran by the water tower and were soon on their way home after an unexpected adventure.  

 

Four friends had spent a long afternoon squabbling in the woods. They wandered around and ended up lost. But they discovered that they knew more together than they did separately. Each of the boys found that he had some pretty good ideas if he could just calm down and share them rather than shouting at each other. They all discovered that sharing made all the difference. They needed to have patience with themselves and one another if they were going to get out of the woods. They needed space for their body-mind-soul to sort things out within and among themselves. Fear and blaming, biases, and short tempers did not serve them well. They needed the patience to trust one another. It was only then that they could listen and hear the group's collective wisdom. It was only then that they could find their way home.