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jenray
Pro - http://www.jenniferhunter.co.uk
- 15/12/2007 @ 10:31:32
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sula36
- 15/12/2007 @ 10:34:24
what a lovely report. I think it sounds like you dealt really well with the challenge. I know I couldn't walk up Everest, but it is always good to push our limits and test our boundaries, and also to do something different now and then. Just because we can.
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how do you know you couldn't?
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sula36
- 15/12/2007 @ 14:30:48
Hmm, I don't. Maybe I could, but it would require major mental training, apart from the physical fitness. I think, like you, I would not reach the summit, but I would enjoy the challenge
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Well written...there is obviously a book in you(can I put something in the forward when you publish)
I can relate to a lot of what you say. Not of course to your Everest trek, one would have to be there to understand fully. However physical fitness against mental fitness is an odd thing...I like you.. (I think I have assumed correctly) have been in the armed forces and during that time i did some amazing things and I pushed myself beyond what I thought I was capable of....like for instance my diving courses. for some reason people assume that it was about tropical fish and coral reefs...they could not imagine the physical effort taken and more so the mental effort to pass the courses...and to have become an army diving instructor at the diving school was for me a highlight in my life....
The point I make is this...I am now an old copper who is 52 years old and have been ill and have all sorts of joint problems..(I’m’ sure you will relate to that)...I am therefore amazed that when I do my public order fitness test or my firearms bleep test. However many youngsters just cant do it...its not that they are not fit enough...it's their mental attitude...there is nothing to push the young of this generation...those who grow up in this soft society are a breed that no know sense of achievement...of course there are some but I am talking about the youth in and around the estates of London and the cities...they need a sense of purpose and achievement. .I’m not sure how they are going to find it..
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It seems like we have been through a very similar military training. As hard as it was, and as fit as I used to be, none of this I have today, from a physical point of view. On the contrary, my body is completely worn out. But the The only thing that I still have left is this mental training. Nothing is too hard for the mind, and when you set your mind to doing something, my physical inabilities are not going to stand in my way.
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jenray
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- http://www.jenniferhunter.co.uk
- 15/12/2007 @ 11:37:31
Your body is completely worn out at 37 according to your profile??? Ranfuchs, what have you been doing to yourself?
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first I am 47 and not 37 (wrong profile)
second, military service can have horrible effect on someone's body-
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jenray
Pro
- http://www.jenniferhunter.co.uk
- 15/12/2007 @ 12:08:59
ah, and really sorry to hear about the last part...hope you're not too seriously handicapped, mind you...if you can climb Everest nearly, you must be pretty fit even with mental training
and I can't agree more about mental training...I would never have been able to do a quarter of what I've done if I hadn't used that to enable me to transcend my own quite severe disabilities...mind over matter and all that..does work...big hugs...-
Most of my problems are of the joints and muscles. But I think that being limited in what I can do physically, is a blessing, as it forces me to compensate for in other ways. If everything is easy for you (the way it was when I was young) it's much harder to evolve. Just like those fit persons I described climbing the Everest. My trip was a great experience, theirs was something they wanted to get rid of.
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jenray
Pro
- http://www.jenniferhunter.co.uk
- 15/12/2007 @ 12:34:13
Mine's with my overall physical strength and balance, but I agree with you about being forced to evolve if life does deal you some hard blows...riches come with them sometimes that are quite beyond those whose bodies are very fit...and you learn from all your experiences as well...I would never have had my ops on my spine if my mental state hadn't been recognized by the surgeon as capable of dealing with it...and if your climb up Mount Everest was painful, just try having the acknowledge most painful operation in the world...LOL...for the young whose bodies heal quickly, it's less of an ordeal, but for older ones, it's a very, very hard slog to get fit again...but we made it and some are really grateful and some not so much because more problems ensued...so far, I've been very fortunate...and will say no more...LOL...fate has big ears...big hugs...
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eggbod
- http://wordworld.blog.co.uk
- 15/12/2007 @ 11:39:31
Very profound and very comforting to read.....
The mind is the key to unlocking the body in my experiences. And when you have overcome the obstacles of the mind, the body is not so difficult.
I particularly share your wonder and appreciation of the fundamental.
The intensity of the blue sky, the sun glittering off a white frosted park......and just being out there enjoying it. -
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kevinwilson
Pro - 15/12/2007 @ 13:15:55
fantastic post.
i stumbled across this by accident, and it gets my vote as the best blog post i have read.
i also believe that mind conquers everything, or destroys everything. it is our perception that colours the way we behave and the things we do.
it is fear that freezes us.
great stuff.
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EllieGant
- 15/12/2007 @ 13:26:41
Another very thought-provoking post, Ranfuchs. I also believe that the mind is the most critical of our components and needs constant training and nurturing. So many people lead amazingly challenging and successful lives and careers, despite severe physical disabilities, but sadly the opposite seems to be true for those unlucky enough to have unhealthy minds albeit perfect physical fitness.
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Sadly enough, at least in my opinion, is that our current culture promotes the body over the mind. Strong stable minds would have been disastrous for both our political and corporate systems. So unless something fundamental changes, I don’t think any chance of changing this trend.
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- 15/12/2007 @ 13:32:12
Really good post! Have you read "Summit Fever" by Andrew Greig? He's a poet who was asked by a climber (Mal Duff) to join him on an expedition. He had no climbing experience whatsoever and as a result, it is a wonderfully written book. It's so different to other climbing books and as the write up at the back of the book says "it celebrates the risk, joy and adventure of being alive."
Almost inspired me to write about my big adventure - racing in a 72ft yacht across the atlantic.
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Never read the book, but will go look for it on Monday. But why did it only 'almost inspire you'? I am sure that many of us here would love to read about your big adventure.
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- 15/12/2007 @ 17:05:07
Definately worth finding the book. I think you'll enjoy it even more as a result of your experience.
My adventure seems an age ago now (2002) - maybe one day....
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- 15/12/2007 @ 14:52:27
fantastic post mate, truly awesome !
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Usksider
Pro - http://www.usksider.co.uk
- 15/12/2007 @ 17:32:34
It would, in my opinion at least, have been a mistake not to post this; thanks for sharing with us all. Excellent post!
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I'm glad you think so
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Usksider
Pro
- http://www.usksider.co.uk
- 15/12/2007 @ 18:03:50
Oh believe me I do.
As has been mentioned above, I wonder if there's a book in there... -
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Oregano
Pro - http://foodfun.blog.co.uk
- 15/12/2007 @ 18:47:30
Very interesting indeed. I enjoyed the account a lot especially the issue of mental training and the joys of seeing nature in its simplest things as well as the most spectacular.
I am shocked at the lack of mental toughness with my own children who seem to give up easily when things do not fall into their lap. Our health and safety culture and consumer focus is leading to a risk-averse, unchallenged generation.-
I know. Even today, I was trying to arrange a few fun things for the kids outdoors. They all gave up within minutes as it was too cold. I was left on my own.
Maybe I should just turn off the heating in the house to toughen up a bit? On the other hand, I am likely to be charged for child abuse, by some child welfare organisation, so maybe I shouldn’t do it after all.
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rubychoo
- 15/12/2007 @ 23:44:21
Over the pass , the voices one by one faded.
And the hill slept. -
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blumoon
Pro - http://blumoon.blog.ca
- 19/12/2007 @ 20:45:24
Wow what an amazing journey!
I had always believed that choice meant control. But in the world’s highest mountains range, which emerged millions of years ago from the sea and will eventually go back there again, what meaning could the term ‘control’ have?
An interesting statement. Perhaps there is no such thing as 'control', merely illusion, most blatently obvious when surrounded by the power of nature. A wonderful opportunity for soul sculpture.
Thanks for sharing. -
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suzeemoon
- http://suzeemoon.friendpages.com/
- 05/01/2008 @ 15:29:36
Found this via Husbandorcat's blog - a fascinating and provocative read - Thank you!
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alecweston
Pro - 21/01/2008 @ 23:21:35
Thanks for the link - and a very powerful post, which has helped me make sense of my confused feelings which you commented on.
I particularly related to you point about choice. Whether or not it involves trekking towards Mount Everest or not I don't know, but I do feel the need to find a situation where choice ir removed from.... feel the need, and feel very scared about trying.
alec
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By choice, I took a big choice out of my life when my wife fell pregnant. At that moment I made a decision that regardless of what happens, before my kids leave home, I will not question the meaning of my relationship with my wife.
This decision has removed a lot of confusion from my life. I committed to myself, and therefore I don't have a choice.
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alecweston
Pro
- 21/01/2008 @ 23:37:02
Gosh. At the moment I feel I would have to trek to Everest before making a choice like that.
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I always believed that kids needed two parents, so it might have been an easier choice for me
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alecweston
Pro
- 21/01/2008 @ 23:59:56
So do I - my parents divorced when I was very young. I have never had childrem... in a way that has been a choice.
I think I will come back to this issue soon in a post of my own -
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Excellent post, Ranfuchs...thanks for sharing this...full of interesting experiences...big hugs...