Reality

One of the reasons I climb hills is for the intense experience of place. The combination of beauty, powerful weather, effort and risk is intoxicating. It makes me feel alive.

It also makes me feel insignificant. It reminds me of my place in the grand scheme of things and my inescapable ephemerality. (Four have lost their lives in the Scottish hills since Edwin and I were there a couple of weeks ago and 23 had to be rescued off Ben Nevis in one day)

But now, sitting in my home in “leafy Bucks” the hills feel unreal. Was I really there? Did we really brace ourselves against that wind trying to whip us off the hill? Is that really Edwin in the photo handily providing a sense of scale?

As Jon Kabat-Zinn once said “We only have moments to live”. Reality is fleeting. Enjoy it while you can.