I have been thinking about that tired phrase: "It's not the destination but the journey." I have to admit that I hate that saying. I hate this pseudo-hippy sense that everything is just right with the world, that we all should be happy now. Well, to tell the truth, I'm not always happy, and your telling me that I should be just plunges me deeper into my pit of despair.
I hate to admit it, but I think we all need validation sometimes. I just got off the phone with James and he just sent his first 11d. It was clear in talking to him that he is full of hope and excited for the next challenge. This is a real, true, valid feeling. And, I would guess that this feeling came from his success. James mentioned that all of his hard work, training, etc., somehow made the send sweeter, more important.
I think that the key is that BOTH the journey and the destination hold equal importance. As climbers, we don't climb forever. The climbs stop at bolt anchors or at the top of the cliff. I have known climbers to be the most slothful individuals while on a rest day. Sure, the toiling has to end. It ends and begins again, when the rest day gives way to the climbing day or one project gives way to the next. I think that these peaks and valleys make this whole pursuit great and interesting. If we were on this perpetual journey that those "warriors" would have you believe , we wouldn't get this rise and fall that parallels the cyclical action of life--the heaving of a chest, the changing of the seasons, the planetary motions.
How's that for a hippy concept?
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