This chapter is probably the most important part of this book. Actually, I feel a little like Robert Pirsig who said he finished Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, then threw everything away except the last chapter and that became the opening of his final work. So please don't get bogged down in all the details in the beginning parts of this book.

"Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly in the distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand." -- Thomas Carlyle

The critical thing now is to get started. Get out there and set up an earth education program somewhere yourself. And don't wait on us. Sure, we would like to hear about it someday (we might even be able to help), but that doesn't really matter. What matters is just to get on with it. The earth can't wait. (Just be sure it is a genuine earth education program, not an environmental or outdoor education one.)

I closed the introduction to the book with a request that you consider joining us on the path of earth education. Now that you know where we are going, if you would like to undertake that journey with us, we have put together a visual map to remind you of the tasks along the way.

A Whole Body Approach... Please remember that the head, the heart and the hands must work smoothly together just like they do in your body. It will not do to tack the hands on as an afterthought or assume that the head and the heart are in synch just because you have included activities dealing with both. As a leader your most important task will be to make sure that these components become synergistic so that the whole person responds to earth education in a life-changing, life-sustaining way. Frankly, this takes a lot of time, a good eye, and an intuitive feeling for the task. Don't be reluctant to ask for some help. We have a lot of program specialists in the institute who would be willing to review your plans and provide some feedback.

First and foremost, think of this as an adventure. You are setting off to discover a more harmonious and joyous future (for yourself, for those you work with, and for the other life of the earth). At the end of the journey you will have crafted a lifestyle that incorporates thinking globally, acting locally, being personally.

Second, we have posted symbols for the head, the heart, and the hands along the way to remind you that an earth education program must integrate all three of these components (the understanding, the feeling, the processing) into one continuous flowing experience. And you must do the same in your own life.

Third, the special signs for the hooker, the organizer, and the immerser will focus your attention on these important tools, for without them you and your learners will probably lose your way. (And they should help you avoid the pitfalls and false trails carved out by those who have been led astray by supplementalist and cornucopian thinking.)

Fourth, if you look closely, you will see our all-important secret ingredient hidden in the pathway itself, where it can provide an underlying reminder of what makes our work so special, and why you are so special in that work.

Good journeying.