What is Zoy?!
In spite of the fact that many things are truly bad, perhaps hopeless, for many of us, pretty much most of the time, we believe the universe is good, and conspires FOR us. Our intent is to join in that conspiracy, to inspire you to do the same in YOUR (not our) own way, even if just for a few moments, every day. And ever increasingly. It is a conspiracy for the sake of the planet, our peers, and our selves. When we turn off, get out, sweat, stretch, and connect it begins. Small connections lead to webs of interconnectedness that go on and on forever. We trigger a conspiratorial phenomenon wherein we become, all of us in all things, in all ways, in our core, with our community, on our speck of creation co-conspirators… co-creators in fact.
Zoy!? There is a Greek name, spelled similarly that is said to mean “life.” We have been known to use it instead of words some might think of as vain if not profane. Like a Spartan “exclamation.” Like a war cry. My friend Finley out in a river canyon at the age of 13 “got it” faster than anyone, ever that I have known. It is like a joke that, if it takes a lot of explanation, looses…well…everything. I once used the words, “like a call to arms.” My friend Amy said, “DISARM!” Armistice? Spirit? Wind? Breath? Breathe? Beauty? It does rhyme with joy. What will Zoy! come to mean for you?
The History of Zoy!
My friend, Steve Kearney, second best dune runner of all time, (says…me) came to me and asked if he could use our name in a spin-off event. He was always in cahoots with the best dune runner of all time, our friend, Hal Higdon. Hal, the longest contributor ever to Runner’s World Magazine, is also an artist. He did this poster for the “Bride” event, and it really says it all. The only thing to ad would be that Brian and I started a triathlon racing team 18 months before the first Zoy! Run. Also on that team was the hilarious Mike, and steady Dr. Nancy who first took me for a run in the dunes. Since I was quite sure my athletic prowess would not be a substantial element of any success we ever had, I surmised I had better at least make a mental, emotional, spiritual contribution to the team. So I posited “Zoy!” as the team name. It stuck. We did not take ourselves too seriously. We had a ton of fun. And Brian was a great partner in a true illustration of sowing seeds straight form the heart in order to reap beautiful, funny fruit.
Al’s own Zoy!
After one of our more inventive original Zoy! courses in the dunes, I (the man who, along with Brian, had marked the course) almost got lost. I saw people all over the woods heading every which way that day. I was smelling tar and feathers…for me, as other finishers and I stumbled back to the scorers table. But I over-heard one runner say to another, “Ya know, I got so lost out there I didn’t know where in the hell I was. It was great!” Another time I came up alongside a couple of runners trudging along on the trails during the race and one said, “Oh. It’s you. Hey thanks for doing this.” And in a rare moment of…appropriateness I said, “Ya know. Some might say God made this beautiful place. That may or may not be true, but I do know this, you guys make the race. Thank YOU.” I can hardly believe anyone ever got a photo of me ahead of my friend Carlos, close on my heals here at the Gallery Gallop in Miller, IN. My friend Norm, and I helped design this silly course. And I think it might also be Jane’s feet at the very top of the frame. Three beautiful people who make it easy to be dead last in a race of four and make me feel lucky every time I think of them.
What is the essence of Zoy?
My professional life has been entrepreneurial in nature. I have 19 years experience of owning/operating franchises, Dairy Queen, Biggby Coffee, and Zoup Eatery; and 7 years as a Dairy Queen franchisor with 43 stores in our area. Like many boomers, I experienced the desire to acquire on the one hand, and then the weight of ownership on the other as a substantial two-sided coin. Lots of work, lots of luck, lots of privilege, lots of obligation, or at least the perception of obligation. That…stuff is not what I would characterize as Zoy!-like. You? Even if the word or the concept of Zoy! is brand new to you, I would bet you would not use it (it does rhyme with “joy” after all) to describe that perception of obligation that we tend to get stuck in. I am glad that even when I do feel stuck the universe reminds me of how lucky I am. I note that the people I admire most, regardless of outward circumstances, seem to own ”gratitude” as a focal point much more than “obligation”. Those folks “get” to do stuff. They don’t “have” to. No matter what the “stuff” is.
My Dad, an early pioneer in the Dairy Queen business, used to say on the one hand, “Money can’t buy happiness, but at least you can choose your own misery.” There is a lot of sad truth in that. So, we can, and are, choosing this particular flavor of misery because… Wait! Why is it we are we choosing misery again? Funny thing is, on the other hand he also used to ask a specific question after every athletic contest and most of the stuff with which I busied myself as a youth. It was hard for me to not resent the question. At the same time, it might be the biggest gift he ever gave me. As a teenager I wanted more than anything to, at least once, put up 20 points in a basketball game. That’s not easy in high school, even if you play every minute. If you sit on the bench a lot, or maybe even the whole game on occasion, like some people, it’s really hard. So, when Dad would ask that question, THE question that I misunderstood and resented, my answer would always be, “Really!? Hell no!” Yep. That would be my answer to the question, “Did you have fun?”
What is the essence of Zoy!? Fun. Do something every day that feels a little risky. Do something for the sake of it. Because you get to. Not because you have to. Regardless of what you have or do not have. Whether you have all day or 30 seconds. Whether you have everything money can buy, or…a real lack of resources, we want to inspire you. Do something that causes you to rub up against beauty and mystery. Turn off. Get out. Stretch. Sweat. Connect with creation, and community, and core, and…intangible things. See all the subtle shades of gray/brown out the window; or go train for a marathon. Hear the robin; or hear the waves that may be too big to paddle through before you try to ride them. Look at the sky…Quick! At 5:30 AM hurry out barefoot in the 35 degree wet grass in your…sleeping shorts, so you can catch a picture of the super moon through the trees with its light that shimmers on the lake and the railroad tracks. Jump in the cool lake (if you know how to swim and you know the temperature is above…say 60, which will feel a lot colder than cool unless you are wearing a wet suit). Run around in the dunes. Give these gifts to yourself. Not because people depend on you (though they do). Not because your sense of self respect depends on some arbitrary number (though it is not bad to know that you can and have achieved something). But because you can and because it is some kind of fun that feeds you and gives you the mental, emotional, spiritual oxygen needed to be grateful, to be of service, to make a difference by your actions and by being your matchless self.
I have been and continue to be stumbling along this path my whole life. But in my 20s, something coalesced. Something came in to focus right after my “professional” obligations began. How lucky am I?
I hope you join me. Zoy!
-Al Mussman
Founder of Zoy! Expeditions
We CAN say this about our metrics:
1) Safety/Risk Dimensions Did you have some degree of uncertainty/fear that required you to summon courage in the face of fear? Did you weigh the risks and rewards? Did you gauge what level of risk is safe for you? Now? Did you seek council from others more experienced? Did you search you own soul for a sense of safety? It is certainly unsafe to never risk, to decide to stay in bed indefinitely, for instance. On the other hand it is probably a very risky thing for you to ride a train on the outside, or swim/body surf in…oh…the “pipeline” on the north shore of Oahu (like some…people…uh…person has done). Whatever the equivalent of those things are for you, we are here to advise against, dissuade from, and shut that down. We are not about bravado, bluster, hubris. We celebrate courage, self-determination, saying yes, and saying no.
2) Turn Off, Get Out, Stretch, Sweat Factors Were you present in the moment? Did you take your phone with you? Your Watch? Were you outside: literally (off the pavement?), experientially (something/some place new?), socially (a retreat of some sort with friends or strangers is Zoy! like). Did this seem like it might be…about 15% out of your reach? 100%? (Running a marathon fired my imagination at a time when I had never run 6 miles…so) 400-500%? Was at least a part of it kinda hard? Really hard?
3) Create/Discover Dimensions Did you take a road less traveled? Did you try something that was new to you. Or new to all people as far as you know? Did you evolve?
4) Connection Factors If you have a positive feeling about a number of the metrics above, you probably find that you empathize with your self more. You understand a friend, family member, or “enemy” more. You know the planet and her other children better. You have a sense of connection, a sense of empowerment, a sense of love.