Kyle Pickett
At
the beginning of the semester we were asked by Doc Lupton, “What do you think
you will see if you look into the eyes of a buffalo?” Today I was able to get
close enough to one to truly ask myself that question. This experience happened
in the afternoon after we left our campsite to head for Mammoth. The morning
before we left had been slow for the group. We didn’t have anything set up and
some of us had no idea what we were doing for the day. Because of this our
group spent a portion of the morning talking with Jeff and Shane about what our
goals for the group were. This question was left open to the group and we all
discussed what we thought needed to be done. After formulating a plan for the
day and an idea about what we wanted to talk about, we decided to head to
Mammoth Hot Springs to learn about the park as well as do some homework. While
we drove towards our destination the question that was asked by Jeff kept
running through my head. What goals did I truly want for our group and what
needed to be done to make our group better? This thought was still in my head when we got to see something
amazing. Walking down the road we were driving on were three bison. The one in
the front was he. As he walked down the road he kept inspecting each of the
cars he passed by while the two behind followed along. When he started to pass
our van his head turned towards the door and I felt he was looking straight at
us. He was close enough you could almost see yourself in his eyes. After this
experience my head was filled with what happened with the buffalo and what Doc
had asked us in the beginning of the semester. I wondered what I truly saw in
those dark solemn eyes and how did this experience relate to me? When I look
back to the experience with the head buffalo I see something that relates to
our group. In the head buffalo I saw how dead set he was on moving forward. His
mind on what was ahead. But I also saw how curious he was to the things around
him. Yet while he was curious to what he saw he was determined to move forward
for the group. He was protective and thinking about his herd. When I look at
this I see something that our group can take advice from. For we are a curios
bunch. Always eager to move forward and learn. Yet while we do want to do these
things we forget about the group and what they need. As leaders we should be
able to find a balance with what we want and what the group needs. For if we
are able to we will be able to accomplish whatever goals we set for ourselves
in the future.
“A man can fail many
times but he isn’t a total failure until he begins to blame someone else for
his own deficiencies”- Waite Philips
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