Soul and body scars
“After being a professional mountaineer, the idea of being a novice is really unattractive.”
Steve*, a then-colleague of my dad, was reflecting on his life’s devotion before starting a production company. He’d spend years as a high altitude mountain climber and guide before trading his crampons for Converse, elevation headaches for client ones.
Climbing, like surfing and other outdoor sports, is a battle against instincts. As I’ve heard it described, climbers climb mountains “because they’re there.” In its futility is a test of wits and will. The reward is all mental. It’s hard as hell.
The late Leonard Cohen, who appeared effortless in his poetic brilliance, said of his work:
“Why shouldn’t my work be hard? Almost everybody’s work is hard. One is distracted by this notion that there is such a thing as inspiration, that it comes fast and easy. And some people are graced by that style. I’m not. So I have to work as hard as any stiff, to come up with the payload.”
There’s a paradox in trying hard things that’s really vexing; trying hard things means you won’t always get them and that’s what makes them hard things. Embracing that makes the highs feel more rewarding, but embracing that also feels like you’re ok with failing.
I was surfing early this morning and I just didn’t have it. I couldn’t get into that gooey flow state where body, board, and wave meld into cosmic oneness and make you 100% certain why you’re alive. I felt like a novice like Steve would if transported him back to a Himalayan peak.
Of course, this applies to desk jobs too. Since starting my freelance life six months ago I’ve worked on a ton of projects. At the start of each one there’s a wide-eyed sense of “Holy shit, I don’t know anything about (insert brand and category). Maybe my luck has run out.” The ensuing hours are the hard work that turns ahhhhs into ahas.
One of Robert Frost’s shortest poems relays a rhetorical question from on high. From God, maybe?
A Question
A voice said, Look me in the stars
And tell me truly, men of earth,
If all the soul-and-body scars
Were not too much to pay for birth.
The voice is basically saying, “Yeah dude, it’s hard. What do you expect?”
Another climber, I think Tommy Caldwell, said, “What I want is to send, but what I need is to try.” The good stuff comes from the hard stuff, the trying, that will leave a couple scars.
Two weeks ago, Hilaree Nelson, one of the world’s best ski mountaineers who was a hero of mine, died while descending the world’s 8th tallest peak. I hope her memory inspires a lot of us to keep trying hard things.
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I write these posts, 3-MINUTE MONDAYS, every other week. My goal with them is to share a snippet of insight into how to do strategy, build teams, and grow. Comment here or message me on LinkedIn if you want to chat. — Ben
