The Risks We Take

I was particular struck by this piece of writing, so thought I'd share.

http://sprinterlife.com/2013/07/the-risks-we-take.html

-Allen

Deep stuff right there. It's a delicate balance for sure.

I think about my wife and little girl all the time. I also feel lucky to have such compelling reasons to be careful.

-Eliot

Thatll make ya think twice. Wow.

"Aside from your birth, the most magical times in my life have been the suspended moments in which time and thought stop, and pure life begins. Waterfalls. Big walls. Remote adventures. Solo missions. This is where the moments that defined my life were found....Perhaps in teaching you how to measure risk without the extra weight of ego and fear, I will learn to find the balance myself, and together we will get the most out of this already too short life"

Great piece.   

Great writing from the heart.  Thanks for sharing the link Allen.

"Aside from your birth, the most magical times in my life have been the suspended moments in which time and thought stop, and pure life begins. Waterfalls. Big walls. Remote adventures. Solo missions. This is where the moments that defined my life were found....Perhaps in teaching you how to measure risk without the extra weight of ego and fear, I will learn to find the balance myself, and together we will get the most out of this already too short life"

Great piece.   

+ 1 on that. What I like about kayak fishing is the adventure and challenge of the sport. So much of life is mundane and predictable and yes boring. I fished for many years for pelagics from boats and fly fishing from shore but nothing compares to kayak fishing in terms of enjoyment. Yes there is risk and that is part of what makes it so addicting. Who isn't totally stoked after a successful launch through big surf? Etienne says that it is in those moments that you are really "alive". In general, I think most people  in NCKA have pretty good judgement and take the necessary safety precautions. The fact that we have been a group for 8 years and haven't had any major incidents is a testimony to that. In fact, one broken leg is the only major injury that I recall. That is a pretty good track record considering we are in little plastic boats fishing shark infested waters with gnarly surf. 

I think the key here was "you make the call."  Finding the balance between risk and stupidity is personal.  We all know people who think we are nuts to fish offshore in tupperware.  We don't see it that way.

Really makes you think about stuff and whats important in life.

"Aside from your birth, the most magical times in my life have been the suspended moments in which time and thought stop, and pure life begins. Waterfalls. Big walls. Remote adventures. Solo missions. This is where the moments that defined my life were found....Perhaps in teaching you how to measure risk without the extra weight of ego and fear, I will learn to find the balance myself, and together we will get the most out of this already too short life"

Great piece.   

That's deep stuff but all true. Thanks for sharing this piece.

That's some incredible honesty and phenomenal writing. Thanks for sharing it, Allen.