The Daily - June 11,2022 - 6

First Words
O U T D O O R R E T A I L E R
there's often an inexplicable unfurling
of self that many of us feel
with friends old and new.
This blossoming of self is something
many of us strive to share
with others in outdoor experiences.
We know that time outside grants
us growth, expansion, and personal
evolution.
So then why, I ask myself, is collective
evolution so difficult?
Does fear drive many of our
own views of cultural innovation?
Dread for the unknown hasn't
stopped most of us from venturing
outside of our physical comfort
zones-just look at your Facebook
Memories for a reminder of what
you did last year on this day.
But translate that same gumption
Dani
Reyes-Acosta
Community
Is Love...
...And collective growth.
DO YOU GET THE WARM FUZZIES
sometimes, too? Maybe it's under
the bright lights of the Convention
Center seeing old friends, or later
on the afterparty's dance floor. I'm
sure the stoke motor purrs at the
trailhead for your alpine start, or
sitting around the campfire with
friends. And on a summit, around
a lake, or maybe in the park with
friends, a little voice pops into your
head: " I love this chosen family. "
I get the warm fuzzies often,
because with my people, outside, I
know I'm home.
6
As humans that love being in nature,
home goes beyond that place
where we park our cars or stash
our gear. Home, for many of us,
is the feeling we get when we find
ourselves in community, surrounded
by humans (and more-than-humans)
that engender fellowship.
This fellowship-created by
common norms, language, and
shared spaces-creates physical
community, the cornerstone of all
things outdoors. But terrestrial,
physical community is also sacred
in its nature. In our time outside,
/ OUTDOOR RETAILER SUMMER 2022
into boardroom or budget business,
and inaction binds us. Is it the fear
of being called out or shamed for
missteps that stagnates evolution?
(To those who would drive
change, remember that pain begets
pain. Cancel Culture is lateral
violence, a pain-inducing act that
defeats future action as much as it
creates accountability. It actualizes
personal pain for us as much as it
quashes others' desires to make
bold moves on new ground.)
To arrive at a place of sustainable
growth, we must recognize
that our industry is on a threshold,
in transition between two important
places. The outdoor industry
of the past didn't have to consider
raging wildfires, rapidly melting
snowpack, pandemics, or rapidly
growing new customer bases.
Today's-and tomorrow's-industry
does, though. We must also
consider supply chain disruptions,
skyrocketing human impact,
education as community-building,
and repatriation, on top of land
stewardship.
In short, we must think beyond
our individual organizational and
personal needs. We must think as
a collective, as a family. Nature is
not just a landscape for adventure.
Mother Nature is our partner in
this space. Creating access to the
outdoors is but a gateway to reciprocal
relationships with each other
as much as with the ecosystems we
both inhabit and visit.
As we pass through this liminal
space, this transitional period of
growth, know that your efforts
are seen, no matter who you are.
Growth is change, and change is
uncomfortable. But every movement
you make toward the horizon
is another step toward the summit.
On the other side of change, we'll
find creativity, energy, and joy-in
community. If we can learn to
think in the collective, we'll create
a self-growing industry that doesn't
just empower its customer base.
We might be able to have a hand
(or many) in cultivating an Earth in
which our species actually survives.
Whether you work at a brand or
run a nonprofit, create content or
perform athletic feats, owning your
place in this family means acknowledging
the best-and worst-about
all the people in it.
Acknowledgement, this rite of
passage, graduates us to the next
level, beyond the sunken place of
quietude and passivity. Because
community is love. And love is an
invitation.
Let's go, fam. Onward.
DANI REYES-ACOSTA
Storyteller, Athlete, Strategist
Nomad Creativa
Photograph by Lauren Danilek
The Daily - June 11,2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Daily - June 11,2022
