Why can
“I have no problems” He replied.
Because of his physical condition he was surrounded by a team of people whose only job was to ensure his happiness. The only thing he could do to live a little dangerously was to not wear a seat-belt, which I am sorry to say, was the very thing that killed him.
The picture on the right is Steph Davis. She’s doing what is called “Free Climbing” or “Free Soloing.” The free doesn’t refer to the cost, it refers to the fact she doesn’t use ropes!
You might be tempted to think it’s crazy, but it’s no different than golf. It’s easy to get to the top with a helicopter, it’s also easy to get the little white ball in the ridiculously small hole. But not if you only use a club.
We don’t want “easy” because “easy” does not make us happy. It makes monkeys happy, but it does nothing for us. In fact, as soon as we reach any stage of equilibrium we will immediately seek a new path of danger.
How many people in the 17th century do you think tried to climb vertical mountains? I mean, it’s not like you need any special equipment to climb a mountain, without special equipment.
Yes, you’ve guessed it, none. Why?
Because they were too busy staving off the black plague or hoping their wives didn’t die in child-birth, or the Russians didn’t invade, or countless other constant and real threats they lived with daily. One would think, and most people did, that when we rid the world of all the existential threats we would achieve peace, tranquility and happiness.
How’s that peace and tranquility working for you?
If we don’t have real threats, we commission them.
Think about the entertainment and news we surround ourselves with. It’s all stories of problems and disasters. We need to surround ourselves with conflict. The bigger the disaster the more prominent the headline. Why? Because we need the excitement of problems to make us feel alive. In fact, it’s so natural to us, we don’t think it’s odd. But it is odd, relative to the rest of creation, animals just don’t try and make their lives more difficult. They aren’t looking for problems, but we are.
The problem is, that’s what our kids do too!