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“Addictions can be very, very bad but addiction itself is not bad.
It’s a case of what you’re addicted to.
You better live each day like it’s your last, ‘cos one day you’re going to be right”.
Ray Charles.
Link tip a friend
Grundregeln in German means “Principles” and being a German word, it is immediately rendered more intriguing, unpronounceable and immune to being considered pretentious …… unlike “Philosophy”.
Philosophy:
Lots of people come unstuck when they use this word and come off sounding pompous, absurd or both, so here’s our attempt at trying to avoid being too much of either!
99% of people say they have a “philosophy" about completely mundane topics, when what they actually mean is they have an opinion on those things.
You can't have a philosophy on deep-dish pizza but you can have a point of view, so here we go sticking our necks into the philosophy noose right now regarding the motivations behind adventure sports; a part of life that we reckon definitely is entitled to have the word philosophy apply .....
(Photo above from Steve Skelton's Shadowlands trip here).
What we try to do on this site is explore some of the "why" questions about what makes a global tribe of seemingly rational people do the things they do. (Image to right, Mark on Everest here).
Why are some people willing to often suffer so much discomfort, take such risks, put themselves in positions of genuine fear, when on pretty well every rational level, doing any of these things is completely ridiculous and basically unnecessary?
To mainstream people who never do any of these things, that’s the paradox:
“WTF do these people do this stuff for?”
George Mallory, who may well have climbed Everest in 1924, gave his reason to attempt the mountain as: "Because it's there".
As a response it's a good one and highly suited to be understood by the general public but we’ve got no doubt that he privately would have said a lot more about his motivations and that's part of what we try to connect with here.
Golfers for example say aged between 25 and 40 can be called a demographic but people in the action sport world are definitely something else, they form a psychographic.
(Kayak Surf photo above, see them as a partner here).
Some 25 year old BASE jumper may never go cave-diving with a 50-year-old but they are both definitely part of the same mindset and group, they view what they do through the same lens and maybe even see much of the rest of life that way too.
Part of what they’re looking for is to be unplugged from normal life for even a second, to find that time when action follows action according to subconscious logic and training and still be in control.
Those periods of total absorption are only brief but when they happen, you're lost completely in them, oblivious to your surroundings, the passage of time and when you find them they are incredibly satisfying and addictive.
Of course there are masses of other super appealing elements to do with outdoor sports; the travel, exploration, friendships, achieving goals ….. but maybe at the core of it, the appeal is the urge to escape the mundane and find those rare moments.
(Photo above from Steve Skelton's Shadowlands trip here)
So there you have it, if these lines give our perspective and a ring even half a bell with you, then have a look at the Rollins quote below as he totally nails one more part of the mix; doing this stuff really does give a whole new perspective.
If you’ve got the time too, hit the tab to the Feeder Quotes page.
Over the years we’ve been sent a huge number of outstandingly insightful views and it’s with real pleasure we’re able to profile some of the very best of them and there’s also a lifestyle comparison sent to us by Vince Nelson which is spot on.
(PS. And have a look at what we've collected in Selected Quotes, not sent in to us but they’re also great).
“The key element to adventure sports is that once you’ve really pushed yourself to the limit, maybe even risked everything, it provides a new way of seeing the world.
Like a snowboarder who’s sailing 30’ off a mountain, I’ve seen these guys; you can’t breathe while they’re moving it’s so hairy. Or the crew who ride big waves. These waves are half the size of a fucking hotel, if you screw up, you’re dead.
After those experiences, how are you going to disturb someone like that?
They wake up in the morning knowing they’re going to risk grave bodily harm and when they pull it off and remains serene throughout, it’s because they’ve dispensed with so much of the “God my shoes hurt”,“My phone bill’s too much”.
They’ve blown all the clutter away and connected with something way more absolute and powerful.
Then, all of a sudden, you have a whole new perspective”. Rollins
(Pic above from Al Leonard, trip report here).
Here are some perspectives from Vince Nelson who sent this our way. His take on what doing these things means to him but some evocative and heartfelt thinking went into writing this …… cheers VN.
FEED IT is a prevention, a cure. A remedy for being sick and tired of being sick and tired, of anxiety, of confusion.
An avoidance technique to prevent each superficial day after superficial day leading to the inevitable thinness of meaning in the endless flatland. A rejection of nebulous limits, demands, being a slave to the clock and a having a life lived in bursts.
Some people are different; only one percent of the world's population will relate to this. These are unique individuals who have their own stimulants. They are detached from the rest of society, the normal, mundane, dull everyday society.
They are unable to endure an existence that is overwhelmingly safe, predictable and tedious. It is a way of life they are compelled to reject.
If it was a person, what would they be like? Probably something like this:
Committed to mastery of their pursuit
Measured and realistic, not fake
Not interested in the trivia of life
Will not readily compromise goals
Is not a follower or swayed by trends
Is calm and exudes calm
Is understated and knows themselves
Knows the risks and takes measures to reduce them
Is not willing to ruin the game by dying because that would be stupid and they abhor stupidity
This stimulation stuff is hardly new, even cavemen hunted Mastodons when they could have grown crops, they knew even then that if they didn't feed the what’s inside, then they would be devoured.
When you Feed It, when fed, is good. If not, it's evil …and it's always in you.