"Each of us is on a climb of a different sort, facing our own mountains, struggling to cross our own rough seas." Anon
Welcome back to both our friends and fellow adventurers at the 'Adventure Blog' and the 'Adventurist'... Jason (The Adventurist) is returning from one of those many challenges of life we all face, and Kraig (The Adventure Blog) is recovering well from multiple surgeries a few weeks back...
This gave me pause to reflect on my own down times, many past injuries, and a recent horrendous flu that I am just getting over, which left me as weak and vulnerable as a newborn...
There are many such unplanned diversions in the midst of our adventure plans and goals... Where the setbacks and ebb's of the situation are contrasted starkly against those times of flow we experience and so wish for... Many such moments I've mused about how N. Shulman wrote that: "Everyday all of us have to attempt a mountain of sorts... Those that refuse to give up and are always willing to struggle uphill, can truly call themselves mountaineers".
I vividly recall too... a participant in the Ironman, who after years of dedication, focused training and effort, was knocked flat like a wind blown forest by a subtle yet severe illness... You could feel his anguish and many looked away when he couldn't stop the tears in his eyes... At that moment he looked so lost...
It is a truism of life and a heightened reality especially in adventures' that we cannot, will not, ever achieve that state where the 'climbing is always perfect', and the 'paddling just so'... It can be as much of a challenge as being out there in the first place to accept that all such adventure experiences are never either good OR bad... positive OR negative... but more truly and naturally some of both and always with elements of each...
Many have written before that 'we cannot have the rainbows without the storms'...
I am still trying myself, to learn to appreciate both... And maybe even learn something from these down times... As M. Twain wrote: "Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful"...
And yet... we still fight it, don't we, at times... but every once in a while we may instead blend with these elements, and find ourselves at another level within our chosen adventures... and with even more hard won wisdom that may be transferred to the rest of our lives...
DSD
2 comments:
Very thought provoking and insightful DSD, as always. Sometimes that downtime is necessary for us to regroup and recharge, and it's important we all find that when necessary. :)
DSD,
Thanks for the kind welcome back! I think this piece is great. To most of us it is always about the challenges. In a sense, I think alot of us prefer the struggles. It is in our struggles that we find out who we really are. What we are capable of..Who we can be.
A popular saying that has been going around lately--What is your Everest?--sums it up. One step at a time, we can do it. It may require a team, but always move forward, never losing sight of that inner goal.
I appreciate the comments and this piece. Really hit home.
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