expedition behavior

NOLS has seven leadership skills. They are:

Competence
Communication
Judgement and Decision-Making
Self-Awareness
Tolerance for Adversity and Uncertainty
Vision and Action
Expedition Behavior

The final one intrigues me the most at present. It is defined, in brief, as respectfulness, flexibility, tolerance of others, courtesy, politeness, direct commmunication, open-heartedness, teamwork, sharing and selflessness.

Although we are only in our first week and still growing as a group, I have been very impressed with the expedition behavior of my coursemates. People have shown great care and compassion for each other. They are consistently willing to assist each other, always have an encouraging word, and work to maintain their senses of humor. We've faced a lot in the first few days in terms of weather, an evacuation, and two long days of hiking.

I find it interesting that, in the face of such challenging circumstances, people can continue to be selfless and caring. If we can do this without many basic "comforts" (runnning water, heat, toilet paper, etc.), I wonder why those who have such comforts cannot. I imagine part of the reason is because they can take such comforts for granted and get caught up in the minutia that may seem important but isn't really. I keep coming back to a theme of many conversations with my (unknown) friend last year-what if we engaged in relationships with others solely to become and help others become better people, friends, co-workers, etc.? What if that could be our main goal?