The Meaning of Climbing

Standing up, locked in to my safety sling, at the top of a challenging 6a today, I looked out at the Andaman Sea and the massive rock faces sandwiching the beach. I had made it to the top. It was sketchy climb, with few good hand-holds, and required a lot of balance, leg work and confidence. But hey, it was at the top!
"If we cared about getting to the top so much, we'd build a ladder," goes a popular axiom often quoted here in Ton Sai. True. This climb was less about getting to the top, then developing the confidence building skills that allow me to balance precariously on a toe while blindly scrambling for some hole, crimp or pinch to get a few fingers on.

Not that I have "it," but I feel myself slowly getting "it". I fell and couldn't finish a top-roped 6b today, but (sort of) onsighted a tough 6a+ bereft of any significant foot holds (a huge shout-out and 'danke' to my new Swiss friend Sven for hooking me up with liquid chalk - aka magic! - for which without, this route, I'm convinced would not have been possible). A good feeling. A feeling of knowing that every climb brings me one step closer to having the strength, experience and confidence level necessary to advance.

Is this a metaphor for life?
Probably. So much of life is based on getting through uncomfortable situations. Being afraid of the unknown, the probably-too-difficult, and the potentially scary - that each success, or each time we find the strength and the confidence to go for it so to speak, is feeling of great accomplishment.

ראה
As I stood spread eagle over two rock faces, I couldn't help be reminded of this morning's parsha. As Bnei Yisrael walked in between Mts. Gerizim and Aibal, they heard that oneside offered blessings, the other curses. I too, knew that I would have to choose between two sides, two faces. Would I reach out for a blessing or acquiesce for the lesser "curse". Just a short antecdote, and let's hope we all choose correctly.

Shavua tov.