Back at home. Hounds snoozing. Tonights dinner of homecooking simmering away. A beautiful baguette to warm and have with soft cheese and a nice shiraz to accompany it all. i/we live a life of unbelievable privilege, opportunity and beauty. i am so grateful for it. i heard today of the death of a friend of a friend - the gentleman died climbing. He had successfully summited and was descending, dislodged a block of rock that took him out. The climber was 42 when he died - he lived the life of an extreme climber - setting records for speed on very tough mountains and routes. To die in an instant, having just accomplished something noteworthy and difficult in a life defined by risk and achievement, sounds pretty good. None of us will escape death. But everyone of us has the chance to make their life meaningful - in a personal, unique way. im, as yet, unconvinced that there a meaning to life, but clearly there is an opportunity to define our own life. i pondered this when i was down in Nicaragua, on long open water swims checking out a reef i could only discern by the distant green/brown line contrasting against the aquamarine of water over white bottom sand, or the solid dark, of a seagrass bottom. Sometimes, swimming out half a mile working only on a bead taken on the featureless sea horizon and then hopefully, semi-accurately, triangulating my position relative to shore landmarks (rechecked between swell lifts when the shore would appear - then disappear). Sometimes, these times, i would think on such things - i had done what due diligence could be done: id checked with our host about any dangerous currents/riptides and been assured that there were none (not that they were expecting someone to go out where i was venturing...) But, i also kept in mind Elvis, our snorkel guides reaction when i swam in and ran into him as he waited for clients. i told him that id swum out to the reef looking for the hammerheads; he cocked a meaty eyebrow at me, jerked his head out to sea, and asked, Dat reef out dere? i smiled and semi-sheepishly nodded an assent. He nodded in acknowledgement, but with that kind of frown smile that says, you a crazy white MFr, you know that, right? Why not? While out, if i had any question, id check the water by swimming a ways back in to shore, assessing effort and progress to ensure it was still easier swimming in than out, then strike back out for new territory. But with meaning (even if personal, self imposed meaning) inescapably there are consequences and they must be confronted and accepted - otherwise, dont go out there - stay in the pool. Cheers to life. And a good death. i raise my glass to the climber that just passed.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Feb 2014 00:34:38 +0000
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