Balance...

Talking to some of my work colleagues, young ones I hasten to add, it seems the spirit of adventure and risk is on the wane. The health and safety environment has truly embedded itself into their mind set. I worry about it...for their sake.

Anything that I am proud of, things that I think back on that have pushed me to the limit, all of them, have been difficult, hard and sometimes painful. I have discovered things about myself, grown, realised my limitations and then pushed at them more. It is part of my childhood, I was brought up on heroes of adventure, pioneers that risked all for the honour of human endeavour. Scott, Bonnington, Hillary and all the like. We dissemble these heroes, tare into their characters to make them little, bring them down to our level....an age of championing mediocrity...and as a result, as the song goes 'No more heroes anymore' !

I hope that the Olympics had an effect, heroes aplenty there!

I look at the stuff people put on social websites...a lot of stuff about 'Fails', people doing stuff that is incredibly stupid, moronic even. Lots of stuff about people doing incredibly wonderful things...but these seem out of reach for most folk. Asking questions of young friends I was saddened that they found it easier to laugh at the stupid, felt empowered by their superiority over the morons and yet not wanting to emulate the 'daring do' of the adventures!

Balance...

I wish I could find the poem that I wrote at school, a line in it still stays with me to this day...

"A long death life is, if not lived"

Come what may, I shall be living mine....from peaceful rest and tranquility.....to screaming lung bursting exhilaration..... Balance!

Have a good one folks!