The emotional value of rescuing a water bottle
We have all been there. Sitting on a mountain top after a good moment’s rest getting ready for the descent. I start fiddling around with the backpack and a water bottle falls out. It keeps rolling. It is gone. For good.
Really?
The other day I climbed one of our country’s most scenic mountains with my two children. Clearly one of those duties as a father before your kids turn 18.
So how do you react to the loss of your favorite water bottle? Easy! You buy a new one!
Wait a moment. Isn’t that exactly what I have been doing all along? Taking the easy route? Buying myself out of what clearly feels like «the right thing to do»?
Climbing down the back side of a mountain. Off the beaten track.
Unfamiliar.
Risky.
Exhausting.
Uncertain.
Slipping without falling. Getting to a junction and having to decide which way to continue. Turning left.
Being rewarded.
There it is. Next to a big black hole that would have sucked the bottle in had it fallen into it. Another two bottles lying in proximity. Others seem to have decided not to chase their bottle. Normal people just go on with life.
When I reach the mountain top again, my daughter is still napping. Life just went on for her.
I saved little money while realizing a small part of my own potential.
There is a lot more to it. I am sure.
What do I drop next?
