Time to get fit! Smelling the ‘roses’ on the way down from charging up the Pharos Gulley at Mount Arapiles.
One of the favourite things in this life I have chosen for myself is that not only do I get to tell stories and inspire people, I also meet people and hear stories which are, without fail, inspiring. There are lots of stories that are told, but the ones that wallow in a core of self misery or I / we- can’t- do- this-because -there-are- so-many- problems-stopping-us, I do not hear.
I once listened online to a Press Club Conference. An American woman, I never found out her name, was talking about the way people have a tendency of seeing their worlds limited by problems when in fact there were opportunities everywhere. She concluded cheekily: ” We are surrounded by insurmountable opportunities!”
The Comfort Zone of The Devil I Know. Does anyone REALLY want to be corralled by Numbing Limitations?
The rewards of getting out of the physical and mental comfort zone. A little higher, I came across a happy smile, that of my neighbour Donna, cycling her way to the top of Arapiles. Below, the joy came from taking the time to look, and feel the land which is me.
I hear and listen to the hopeful, the we-can-do-something-about-it, so-let’s-stop-talking-about-it-and-actually-do- something stories. They come from all walks of life, from people who live with illnesses of the body, from others who have challenges of a different kind. They have all one thing in common: the stories worth hearing come from people who have chosen to follow their heart, and to make decisions from love, not from fear.
Know Fear Step 1: identify fear
Know Fear Step 2: Here it is! South Face of Aconcagua, 3000 vertical meters of mud and avalanches
Know Fear Step 3: KNOW FEAR!!!!!!
I m not saying we don’t all have doubts and fears. I will borrow here from the wisdom of my former husband, Jon Muir. Quite some time ago, he came across someone wearing a T- shirt sporting the brand name ‘No Fear’. Jon sniggered as only he can, and said: KNOW Fear! So right. Identifying fears, making room for those fears, and stepping over them, out of the comfort zone of their everyday familiarity, is how we thrive. We cannot live our dreams without being aware of what is, right here, right now. Once we know, it is easier to listen to he heart, and feel the way through Love to Joy. With that kind of attitude, without fail, life delivers,… and the dream becomes reality.
With Geoff Little on our first day of (not) getting over the fear, Aconcagua South Face
Six days later, two thousand meters higher, under the crumbling two hundred meter- high serac. We definitely know fear now, and we will for another three days of descent without food. By the time we reached the glacier, we were hallucinating on adrenalin.
These photos were taken during our attempt on Aconcagua South face, French Route, in 1989. Perhaps our dream was to get to the top, but the extraordinary reality of being alive after such a long – and dangerous- ordeal was one we could only have dreamt of!You can read the story in my ebook, The Wind in my Hair. All proceeds to Beyond the Smile program and documentary.
Beyond the Smile 