I suspect those rafting trips were the catalyst for adrenalin-rush experiences. He made the observation that after the third day, the relational dynamic shifted among the participants and a more cohesive group dynamic began to emerge. People seemed more comfortable with letting go of some of the attachments that tied them to home (ie: email, telephone calls and thoughts of what they were missing).
He expressed it like this: “An awareness sets in that the river is now your new reality. The ritual of unloading the boats, setting up your campsite, gathering around the fire, sharing meals, etc. is now your day-to-day existence. It’s a bonding experience. Your old reality fades away.”
All of that in just three days - The passing thought that surfaced in my head had to do with my comfort level. Okay, so I can personalize anything. The reality is that after three-days of being anywhere other than home, I am ready to go home. I am emotionally tied to what I’ve left behind and three days out of my regular routine and habitat leaves me longing to be back on the grid.
I have a friend that never gives a second thought to embarking on a six-week excursion to comb cemeteries looking for family members that have been on the other side of eternity long before his first-generation grandparents were born. He figuratively has unearthed incredible stories and is appreciative of the rich legacy and heritage he has been given. I simply would have difficulty being gone from home for weeks at a time.
Don’t get me wrong. His passion for garnering information and being gone weeks at a time is not a character flaw. By the same token, my comfort level that limits my time away to three days is also not a character flaw.
My thought processes associated to the three-day-scenario brings many things to mind. As I thought about the three-day dynamic, a poem I read well over forty-years ago came to mind. It begins: “On the third day, I was dirt. Common ordinary dirt, like you see on a country road in a dry spell. Me expecting nothing; nothing expected of me either. And then he comes along and blows. “In my own image too”, he says, like he was doing me a favor…”
Lazarus was in the tomb for three days when Jesus arrived and restored him to the land of the living. Perhaps more importantly Jesus rose on the third day.
Long story short, three days is a very short period of time, but a lot can happen to change the course of one’s life in three days.
All My Best!
Don