I’m horribly afraid of heights. So much so that when I find myself in a high place, I’m tempted to just jump because I want the fear to end. Completely irrational, but that’s how it feels.
So given my fear, rock climbing is just crazy. But I kind of love it anyways. When I’m up on that wall and my heart is pounding so hard from fear, and every muscle is straining…it gives quite an adrenaline rush.
But I never look down and I never look too far ahead. I stay focused on the place where I am and the next step. I look for the nearby holds rather than looking back or down.
Though as a historian I tend to have an obsession with the past, in my own life I’m learning the importance of being present in the here and now. Rock climbing is a good reminder of that important lesson. When I concentrate on the very place where I am, the fear of what’s below or ahead just drops away.
Note: Catgirl is on one face of the wall and I’m on the other. :)
2 comments
Man, this pic makes me wish I'd had time to go climbing with you guys while I was there. And now my bother had the gall to go and get a job on the East coast and remove my excuse to come visit. :(
I identify with a fear of heights, and yet I love them, too. I like to hike up to the tops of ridges and lie on my stomach with my head over the edge- so frightening yet thrilling at the same time.