30 Day Sit Spot Challenge!

1. What happens next?
2. What is the challenge?
3. How does it work?
4. How do I join the challenge?
5. Sharing and seeing other's experiences

What happens next?

Congratulations and thanks to the over 300 people from throughout the world who helped make our first ever Sit Spot Challenge so fun and worthwhile!

Now that the 2008 Sit Spot Challenge is officially complete, what happens next?

1. Get resources for your learning journey
If you have participated in the Challenge or been inspired by those who have (see below), you may want some more tools for your nature studies.

We therefore decided to help celebrate the very successful first Sit Spot Challenge with a special 30 Day After Sale at our on-line store.

2. Share your feedback and reflections, and read about others experiences

We'd love to hear how the Sit Spot Challenge went for you, and suggestions for making next year's event even better. So please share your feedback at our NatureTalk forum (or email us your suggestions).

And it's pretty incredible to read the dozens of inspiring "stories of the day," pages of beautiful and funny haikus (many from first time poets!) and more on the NatureTalk forum.

3. Continue the Challenge
Are you up for the challenge of continuing to go to your sit spot daily, or at least often as possible, for another 30 days, or longer?

You have seen how valuable this practice can be, and like any core routine of nature awareness, the more you do it, the easier and more second nature it becomes...

And at least here in the U.S., the weather is warming up, so it should become easier and more exciting as time goes on.

Keep your eye out for next year's challenge too! We are already beginning to plan for the 2009 Sit Spot Challenge...Subscribe to our free email newsletter, The FoxDen, so you can hear updates about this and other news from Wilderness Awareness School.

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What is the challenge?

The Sit Spot (also known as the Secret Spot): a surefire way to get to know nature and yourself more intimately. (What's a Sit Spot?). For some of us, going to this place is easy, like breathing. For others, we really want to visit a secret spot regularly, but it is a struggle, and we give up. No matter where you fall on this spectrum, I invite adults and youth of all ages to join Wilderness Awareness Schools' first 30-Day Sit Spot Challenge! Join the Challenge

How does it work?

Go to your Secret Spot every day for at least 20 minutes. The starting date is Friday, February 15, 2008 and will continue to March 15, 2008 (NOTE: If you just found out about the challenge and are late getting started, that's OK. Just make up the missed days at the end of the challenge if you can).

Rain (or snow), or shine, night or day, blindfolded or sighted, go to that beautiful place and the sky's the limit. Do a sense meditation. Stalk up on the black cat that stalks the winter wrens. Dance. Build a fire. Whatever it is that you do when you go there, just do it! Even if you're traveling, sit somewhere each day.

Now, I want to let you know up-front that it is perfectly normal to experience a wide-range of emotions when sitting in silence for 20 minutes many days in a row. You may feel peacefulness and calm, intense joy, frustration, or even sadness or anger. While this may seem challenging, just know that it is a chance for healing to happen. Remember that there are many people out there who are also doing the challenge, including me, supporting you. And so is nature. You are not alone! Read a sit spot story from Kat

How to join our 30 Day Sit Spot Challenge!

• To join, send us an email saying "I accept the challenge! and I live in..." (closest city or town and state/country),
• OR, you can post your location in our forum.

We'll put you on the Challenge list, and add you to the map so we can all see where everyone is sitting around the world. Share your experiences with us along the way and we'll highlight them in the next issue of Foxprint!

Share your experiences with us, and others!

During the challenge, there will be 3 ways to share your stories, thoughts, photos, drawings, etc...other people will appreciate hearing about your experiences!

1. Post your experiences on our forum! Go to our new Sit Spot Challenge forum on NatureTalk.net where you can post your own stories, read how other community members' Challenge's are going, and encourage each other!

2. Email us. Email Kat Koch, who his coordinating the Challenge. Email your stories, photos, drawings, and more... We'll include some of your experiences on-line and in our e-newsletter, as well as in a future issue of our Foxprint donor newsletter.

3. Map of Challenge participants! We've created an interactive map showing participants in the challenge. When you post your location in the forum or email us your location, you'll be added to the map!

We're very excited about this...sign up today and please let us know how it goes for you! If you have any questions, email Kat.

A Sit Spot Story from Kat

I'll leave you with a story. I was sitting at my Spot this past fall, thinking. (It happens, you know, when your mind chats away, interrupting your quiet with all kinds of stories.) Then I began to relax, I took a deep breath and as I exhaled, I felt myself glued to the cedar tree. I thought, maybe I am doing enough in my life. Maybe all I need to do is continue to strengthen and tone my body and mind like I've been doing.

Then, I heard a scratching noise above me. As I turned to look, an immature Cooper's hawk flew right past my face and landed in an apple tree 15 feet away, obviously agitated. I looked above me and there sat an eastern grey squirrel. I was floored with the energy of the moment. I studied the intricacies of the hawk's feather colors. And then it flew away and I began breathing again.

Questions about what happened jumped like sand fleas in my head. And I kept on sitting and wondering and sensing and smiling.

What is a Sit Spot?

A Sit Spot (also known as a Secret Spot) is simply a place to go in the woods, or even your back porch, and sit. It doesn’t have to be all that special to start with. You make it special, and secret, by sitting in it – time after time.

Find one place in your natural world that you visit all the time and get to know it as your best friend. Let this be a place where you learn to sit still – alone, often, and quietly -- as well as playfully explore beyond. This will become your place of intimate connection with nature.

The Best Teacher is One Place
by Jon Young

People who know me well have heard me give this same answer to many different questions – not because I am losing my train of thought, contrary to what some might say, but because there is truly only one good answer to the many questions about the deep learning of naturalist skills. The foundation is the same for all:

• What makes a great naturalist?
• What makes a great tracker?
• How did they become “natives”?
• How did they become good teachers?
• How did they become good storytellers?
• How can we become great outdoor instructors?
• How can we learn to understand the language of the birds?

In one way or another, my answer always contains something of the following:

“Find one place you can get to know really, really well. This is the most important routine you can develop.

Know it by day; know it by night; know it in the rain and in the snow, in the depth of winter and in the heat of summer. Know the stars and where the four directions are there; know the birds that live there, know the trees they live in. Get to know these things as if they were your relatives, for, in time, you will come to know that they are! That is the most important thing you can do in order to excel at any skill in nature. Nature and your own heart are the best teachers, but your body, mind and spirit all have to attend the class, and do the homework. There is no replacement for this experience!”

One of the most critical elements in the routine of visiting a single place and getting to know one area well is really just taking the time to listen to the wind, to check in with your heart – that is, your feelings – and allow yourself to just be.

From Kamana 1: Exploring Natural Mystery by Jon Young, page 98.