loving art, science and creative kids

Summer Night’s Dream, 

acrylic on canvas, 26” by 32”, gold frame/ $ 498 

Pursuing dreams often involve taking risks. What is thought of by night may turn into a jumble of emotions that focus on fears and courage.

Risky Business

Stacy Allison, the first American woman to reach the summit of Mt. Everest,   overcame obstacles and had the courage it took to pursue her dream through overwhelming negative odds.  After years of work to get her body in shape and to find funding for the excursion, she was forced to abandon her first climb due to brutal weather. Stacy saw friends become seriously maimed and felt the ruthlessness of climbing a mountain that kills. Travel at the higher reaches of Nepal was cold and miserable.  Rather than give up, however, she grabbed an opportunity a year later and was successful at reaching the pinnacle.   Stacy’s experiences are well documented in her book, Many Mountains to Climb: Reflections on Competence, Courage, and Commitment.  The motivational talks she gives are designed to inspire  people to pursue their dreams, take risks, and not give up under challenging circumstances.

The amount of risk a individual should assume is difficult to assess.  It is  a personal decision that greatly affects how broadly one embraces their slice of life. There are those who are risk adverse, believing that driving a car or walking across a busy street is too dangerous in today’s crowded cities teaming with road rage drivers. Some parents are fearful of the negative consequences that might occur from their children’s experimentations and so hover in an effort to keep them from falling.  Their anxieties can make their offspring overly cautious and unduly restrained and keep them from fully embracing life’s possibilities.

There are those, myself included, who have a need for adventure and are likely to reach for higher levels of unpredictability.  At times it means that I put myself in harm’s way as I recently did.

For the last two weeks I’ve been traveling through Ecuador, living with host families in the Amazon jungle and in highlands of the Andes Mountains. The group of adventurers I was with river-rafted in the Amazon, horseback rode in areas adjacent to active volcanoes, zip-lined over high cliffs and climbed slippery waterfalls on narrow jungle trails while avoiding thorn bushes, snakes, and scorpions.

 While rafting, our cocky guide toppled five out of six participants (including himself) into churning waters when showing off by standing on the raft’s rim. Our lives were put at risk within a second of his madness as we were thrown into a whirlpool under the water’s surface. Wondering if I would rise to the top and be rescued before my breath gave out, I managed to remain calm.  I could have panicked or drowned. . . but I didn’t and instead pushed towards the surface with all of my strength.   I believe that my daily meditation practice helped me maintain a presence of mind.  The only negative effect I felt was nausea from being twirled rapidly around in circles. Once in the raft again, the queasiness abated.  Overall, the experience was exhilarating and I can’t wait to go again. I was trained in survival techniques before the trip so was able to remain calm rather than panic as did several fellow rafters. 

But in hindsight, I am forced to admit that despite my daily fitness schedule, the strength I had as a youth is just not there. I now acknowledge that skill level and strength are needed in addition to the ability to remain calm when stressed.  A seventy-eight year old is not as agile or strong as the twenty year olds who filled the adjacent rafts.  I will be a bit more cautious in the future.

Youth who feel invulnerable are known to savor high actions sports and activities that test the limits of endurance. The young man my partner and I mentor was such a risk taker. He was physically fit, with a good sense of balance, and a fearless attitude. He worked hard as an industrial painter but was not always cautious when 30 or 40 feet high. He believed his life was charmed and that he was above the possibility of a serious injury so, one day, instead of wearing his heavy safety-harness on lower-level scaffolding, he went without protection. He took uncalled for risks because of his desire to move quickly and efficiently and to outshine other workers. An accidental hit to his leg by a fellow worker sent him flying into permanent quadriplegic exile that now affects the entire family.

How much risk should a person embrace in order to live a satisfying life?Sitting in a chair and never leaving home would be quite limiting.  Physical inactivity is also risky for it can lead to high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, anxiety and depression.  According to an article in BC Medical Journal, idleness and lethargy have instigated major health problems worldwide.

It seems to me that desire for physical challenges have to be in balance with a need for safety?  Parents grapple with the question of whether  to protect their children from climbing trees or walking a mile to and from school.  In many nations, children travel two to five miles by foot each day benefiting from the exercise. When I was a child, walking or bicycle riding were the norm, but traffic was not congested and no one ever spoke of kidnapping or sex abusers. I am not sure how I would react today.

The article in the BC Medical Journal also discusses the risk-benefit paradox of exercise. A certain amount exertion is good and life giving while prolonged strenuous exercise training brings with it the risk of sudden cardiac death, atrial and ventricular arrhythmias and damage to muscles and bones. 

How do we as a society decide how safe is safe enough?  Does the public’s desire for a zero-risk society threaten political, economic, and personal expression.  What happens when a liturgical society such as ours shifts risk away from individual responsibility. How do we decide on culpability? 

Some people crave more risky experiences while others are risk adverse. Is it in their DNA or did it develop because childhood exposures? If a person craves risk and acts without forethought, who bears responsibility for the consequences of his or her action? 

These questions, explored by many philosophers and researchers, are difficult to assess.  I can only speak for myself as a middle-of-the-road risk taker who is willing to move a bit beyond my comfort zone. As a result of this decision, I have many memories from visiting foreign countries. I’ve danced with tribal members in the streets of Kenya and high in the Andes Mountains and learned how other cultures respond to family, politics, and religion.  These adventures have helped me understand that though people view the world through unique prisms, they are similar in their love of family, homeland, and desire for peace and security.    

References:

Risk of Physical Inactivity:  http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/cardiovascular_diseasesrisks_of_physical_inactivity_85,P00218/

 Warburton, Taunton, Bredin, Isserow,  Risk-Benefit Paradox of Exercise:  The BC Medical Journal, The risk-benefit paradox of exercise, Issue: BCMJ, Vol. 58, No. 4, May 2016, page(s) 210-218 Articles: http://www.bcmj.org/articles/risk-benefit-paradox-exercise.