Yet Again.......

"Fall seven times; get up eight." Japanese Proverb

"The bamboo, which gives way, survives a storm, while the brittle oak may be uprooted...In the adversity of life's storms, we should bend, but we need not break." Deng Ming-Dao

"The ultimate 'trick' was simply this: to fail, learn, and start over; to fall, reflect, and rise again - to keep moving, to keep going on." R. Messner

Yet again have I injured myself... When in the midst of a powerful winter storm, I simply fell, and it feels like I have awakened an old river injury...

And there have been many as it seems that one of the prices of admission for being adventurous are lingering souvenirs such as this. I put my shoulder out in my teens while using a tree branch to clear a winter campsite, then my back when lifting a loaded kayak, and my achilles while training for a long trek foolishly on hard pavement... My knees now talk to me too with their funny little sounds after over twenty years of climbing and descending, as does my back and neck after so many years of carrying a heavy pack...

But I wouldn't trade these aches for anything, as I've earned them, as I did the lessons they taught me, during experiences that are priceless...

I don't know what that symbol is that represents both crisis and opportunity and do have difficulty seeing the upside of such an injury early on in the process. It is a challenge in itself to get past the frustrations. Sometimes I think these situations bruise the ego as much as they do the body...

It does seem to also remind me of why I have been drawn over the years to the many historical accounts like Shackleton, or more recently Simpson, who have experienced severe adversity during their adventures yet have endured so well... How I admire their spirit and the creative ways and means they adapt and carry on. They are so human in their mistakes, and in proving how we simple humans can find so much more within ourselves than we might have ever thought before...

So, once I've had my time getting myself upset, ruminating, and feeling sorry for lost time and missed outdoor opportunities - I think another kind of musing is in order. I think I will revisit these old friends, these many writers of adventure, and mine their experiences yet again for the gems of wisdom and fortitude they always have hidden within them...

Not quite what I had envisioned to start the year with, but I believe we all have a bit of Phoenix within each of us...

And when I am physically a bit more able, I will paint a few more Summit Stones, and ponder some other quotes, and look forward to placing these little gifts while planning to be out on another trail of my own...

DSD