Mel was on Angi’s back, ready to go. Joel jumped on Jeff’s back, gave him a little back-of-the-motorcycle-hug, and they shifted into position next to the girls. I squeezed in, squatting between Angi’s legs – oh, yes – and finally Joy stepped onto the tarp and started twisting the corner around and under itself.
Are you with me here?
The goal of the “Magic Carpet” challenge is to get all six of us to fit on a 2’x3′ area, then to flip it upside down with us still on it.
Hmmm. A mental and physical challenge.
Earlier in the day, we had hoisted each other through a hanging tire, crawled up a rope web, and hurdled a log horse.
Blindfolded!
Okay, only one of us was blindfolded.
Obviously, the goal of the day was to get us to work together and communicate effectively. A necessary skill for life on the World Race.
A necessary skill for life in general!
One that it is much harder to practice than to preach.
Finally we had a break-through.
Through that discussion, we realized that we just need to have some fun together.
Are you thinking: weren’t those team-building exercises fun?
Yes and no.
I am very independent and self-reliant, and apparently so are many of my teammates, so there was a lot of noise and a lot of retreating going on. I’m having to learn all about trust and appropriate expression of feelings. More on that to come … Ultimately, some of us had been more focused on the rules and on the task than on relationships.
We’ve been very close physically – keep in mind that we are hot and sweaty (it’s Georgia in August, at a rustic campsite without shower facilities). And now we’re being intentional about opening up our hearts and getting close emotionally and spiritually.
