Shoalhaven Bushwalkers Inc. PO Box 403 Nowra NSW 2541 info@shoalhavenbushwalkers.org.au

What is life all about?

When I was young, I had a job with a tour company as a guide on the buses. After a time the company had some training classes and on the last day of the course the President of the company came to give us a talk. He was a very down to earth type of person who in front of the group rolled his own cigarette and chatted with us about his rise to fortune.

He started out selling Singer Sewing machines and was good at it. One day he organised a bus tour for his church group and enjoyed it so much he thought it was much better than selling sewing machines. He went on about how his dream to build a tour company and give up selling machines was achieved.

Then out of the blue he asked us to take a piece of paper and a pen and write down the name of the most important person in the room.

Well, the room had so many to choose from, the head Accountant, who paid our wages, the head of the tour guides who allocated the jobs and of course the President himself.

He said to fold the paper and put it in your pocket, which we all did. Then he said the answer is only one name and that should be your own. Yes, you are the most important person in this room and in the company, he said.

Then he asked us to write again on the paper ten things that we most want to do, irrespective of wealth, knowledge, or whatever. This wasn't easy, but after some time it was done. He went on to say, that this list of ten things should be thought about for several days and three on the list which we least wanted to do, should be crossed off. Then after some more thought another three things crossed off, and then another three, leaving just one thing on the list. He said, this is what you want to do, so go and do it!

After some time, I forget how long now, I left his company and got a better job, because of his list of ten dream things. You might do a similar thing on New Years Eve or have some other way to go for it. I found this simple way to choose a goal and have stuck to it all though my life. Whenever things seem to slow up for me, out comes the paper and a new list is dreamed up and crossed off till I get to the last one.

Bushwalking came that way to me, and each week nowadays, the list being minimal, only four to choose from, I get to cross off three and do the one that's left.

Why go to all that trouble? Well, the secret is that doing what you want to do, with whom you want to do it, makes for a very happy club member.

Within the club we have all sorts of goals which make us happy and there are many people putting their dreams down on the program and getting them done. Whether it's climbing a mountain, going to the Nowra Players, canoeing, bicycling or taking a walk that includes a swim in the sea. If the person that wants to do it, does it, then we'll continue to have a great group of happy people.

There are a lot of members who have clocked up over ten years with the club (37 actually) and if the club didn't have this happy element strongly entrenched in it, would they have stayed so long with the same group? I think not! Next time you choose a walk, try doing the one you would most like to do, keeping in mind, of course, your ability, and that reminds me too, your age.

It's been a long time since that talk, but I too, like you, will be happy doing what we want to do. Stay happy and on track to better health this summer, and take care.