Cheating Death? Not Me!

He rides his bike too fast and falls down occasionally. I make sure he always wears a helmet. He tumbles off chairs. He has fallen out of a tree and done plenty of other heart-stopping things, but he’s only been seriously injured once: he lost a tooth and a lot of blood when he fell on a coffee table—while doing one the “safest” things imaginable—watching TV.

All across the country, kids and the adults they’ve become are suffering and dying from obesity and sedentary lifestyle-related illnesses—at least in part, because their parents have kept them safe from all the terrible things that might happen if they play in the streets, or in the parks, or ride their bikes to school.

I take all this to mean that avoiding dangerous activities will not keep me, or anyone else, safe. I like safety. The fact that I can’t avoid danger by avoiding dangerous activities is what makes rock climbing so appealing. While I am climbing, I know that I am doing everything possible to keep myself safe. I wear my helmet. Before I climb, I inspect and re-inspect my equipment and ropes. Once I leave the ground, every ounce of my energy and every thought in my head is 100% focused on safety. At the moment that I slot a piece of gear and clip it, my sense of safety and security is intense, as is the certainty that I must climb again. The whole experience is a wonderful metaphor for life. For me, it is also a big part of what makes life worth living.

If you also crave intense, momentary feelings of safety in a hectic, inherently dangerous, unpredictable world … perhaps I’ll meet you at the crags some day.