Book 176 - A Year of Magical Learning

Reflection Title: Going Against Nature!

Book – Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer

Book Description: Into Thin Air details Krakauer's experience in the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, in which eight climbers were killed and several others were stranded by a storm. Krakauer's expedition was led by guide Rob Hall. Other groups were trying to summit on the same day, including one led by Scott Fischer, whose guiding agency, Mountain Madness, was perceived as a competitor to Hall's agency, Adventure Consultants

Reflection:

Jesus!

That is the only word that comes to mind as I finished reading Into Thin Air. That didn’t have to happen! That shouldn’t have happened! I honestly have a hard time trying to understand why they were even on that mountain in the first place.

Talk about “I Can’t Imagine”, the author did such an amazing job of detailing this journey that I could feel myself there with these people. I could see myself on that mountain with them and enduring what they were going through. So much so, that I can’t these thoughts out of my mind. I keep visualizing these poor souls stuck on that god-forsaken mountaintop voluntarily traumatizing themselves and fighting for their lives in the process.

There is just something that doesn’t sit right with me about this entire story. I JUST DON’T GET IT! What is the point? These people weren’t exploring new frontiers, they weren’t do any scientific work, etc. They were only on that mountain to see if they could compete against nature and win…that was it.

I think what bothers me most is that they chose this for themselves. They asked nature to traumatize them, and nature delivered like always. That is nature’s job! Nature is the beautiful symphony of checks and balances needed to maintain harmony and sustainability in this world. When we aren’t supposed to be somewhere, nature will let us know with a vengeance and put us back in our place.

My family felt nature’s fury when my daughter unexpectedly arrived in this world 4 months early. She wasn’t supposed to be here yet. Her little body wasn’t prepared to handle this world they way that nature intended. Just like these mountaineers, she fought against nature for her life with everything she had. She endured things that you and I will never imagine. Her body was punished day after day, but she still kept fighting for a chance at life. Watching her fight helped me to understand just what humans are capable of changed me forever.

Yes, a lot of lessons were learned from this event in my life, as I’m sure the survivors of Everest experienced as well. You will certainly learn some incredibly valuable lessons if you challenge mother nature and survive. The biggest lesson I learned was that when you fight nature, you will learn why harmony and balance are so coveted and critical in this world. However, I still can’t get over why anyone would choose this for themselves. Emilia didn’t ask for this, these idiots did. I’ll never get over that thought in my mind. Unspeakable pain and suffering resulted from both events in all the people’s lives, however, for these mountaineers it didn’t have to be this way. That is why this whole book troubles me so much.

Watching Emilia’s fight for a chance at life against mother nature is why I’m spending the rest of my life seeking balance for my world and others in it. My family went up against nature and she showed us all why she inflicts so much pain on those that challenge her. Nature does this to keep us in harmony and keep the world in order so that all life can have a chance to survive and thrive.

I learned my lesson and, if I can help it, will never be challenging Mother Nature in this way again. That is YOML in a nutshell, understanding nature and doing everything I can to work with it and not against. I can tell you that it feels a lot better than the reverse.

Question: Are you going with nature or fighting against it?

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Links:

What is The Year of Magical Learning? An Introduction

YOML Podcast Discussion - Coming Soon

YOML Bookstore - Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer