Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Learning, Changing, Growing



It's been a wild month since I last wrote on here. We feel much more settled into our city and have been enjoying some great weekends climbing all over this beautiful, mountainous country. When the weather turned warmer, we started going out on the weekends to climb, and now here I am, a month and a half later, having not written. I think someone in our family has said before that, "no news is good news". Well that's true for us in this case. I have to remind myself to slow down sometimes to reflect and share these experiences with others.
I've really been growing in my climbing lately, but not in the conventional sense of power and strength as much as I have mentally. I don't know where I got it from, possibly from my fellow climbers (amazing people), but I've been using a few sayings lately. When something has happened that I would have liked to be different, I simply say, "it is what it is," meaning that you can't change the past so why dwell on it.
The other thing I've really been focusing on is the pure enjoyment aspect of the sport, as well as life in general. There are so many things we do on a daily or routine basis that we don't ever stop to ask ourselves why we do them. Why do I put so much into my daily life that I feel rushed all day long. Am I enjoying this life? And back to the original topic, am I enjoying climbing? Rebs and I climb for no other reason except that we enjoy it. There is no person or thing that forces us to do it. And most importantly, I don't find my self worth in how well I climb. At least that's the goal. I've recently found that when I take the pressure off myself to be perfect in my climbing, and to just enjoy it- every moment with friends, being outdoors, each movement on the rock- I climb better and am much happier for it. I am living in the moment.
We aren't promised tomorrow. So why not live right now, making the most of every opportunity. There's some company that has a great slogan that says, "be present". That's where I am right now and it's a good place to be. Not too focused on the past or the future. I enjoy being in the present!