That's me in the tan floppy hat on our Salmon River rafting trip last summer.
Women's Adventure Magazine has been running an informal book club on their Facebook page. Participants all read the chosen book and then respond to questions posted by the moderators. I missed participating in the discussion on the first book, 3 mph: The Adventures of One Woman's Walk Around the World by Polly Letofsky, although I did read the book on my own. The second book they chose was Becoming Odyssa by Jennifer Pharr Davis in which she wrote about her first hike of the Appalachian Trail (she later went on to set the women's speed record for the trail). Last month, at my suggestion, we read about Jill Homer's montain bike race down the Rocky Mountains in Be Brave, Be Strong - A Journey Across the Great Divide.
The book club moderators opted to go for something a little different this month: My Year of Living Fearlessly by Amber Karlins. I appreciated that this book gave the group an opportunity to acknowledge that adventures don't have to be epic journeys that challenge you to your physical and emotional limits. Amber started her year of living fearlessly because her mother told her, "I think you're living a small life, and I want more than that for you." What a thing to have anyone, let alone your mother, tell you! At the tender age of 24, however, Amber realized her mother was right. She used to do all sorts of unusual and adventurous things, but in recent years had done nothing of the sort.
Amber took up a paper and pen and wrote a list of all the things she was afraid of. Without much thinking, she managed to come up with 40! She decided then and there it was time to do something about this excess of fear. With the help of imaginative friends and family, she came up with 52 fears and challenges to face, one per week, over the next year. Her book is based on the blog posts she wrote about each one. She writes honestly and with humor; the book is an entertaining read.
Realistically, not all of the weeks were based on true fears. Nonetheless, I have never encountered a person, in reality or in print, with more issues and neuroses. I'm only half way through the book and she's already admitted to a fear of heights, small spaces, sharp knives, flying, and personal rejection, to name just a few. She also has issues with raw meat, seafood, belly dancing, alligators, baseball, horses, guns, snakes, changing a car tire, whales, and much, much more. Good grief!
Needless to say, all of this talk of fears got me to thinking about my own. Could I take on a challenge such as Ambers? No. At least, not from a true perspective of conquering fears or trying things I really have issues with trying. I'm having a hard time coming up with anything I'm really, truly afraid of.
Okay, there's bungee jumping. I have absolutely no interest in flinging myself off of a bridge or other ediface with nothing but a bungee cord around my ankle to support me. However, if I could do the same thing in a hip harness (like a rock climbing harness), I'd be all over it. I've always wanted to try sky diving, so heights and throwing myself out of perfectly functional planes is not the issue. I just don't like the thought of falling upside down, but, as prone as I am to giving in to peer pressure, if I were with a group of friends, I'd probably do it, too.
I'd also have a hard time being Indiana Jones. The thought of sticking my bare hand into a bug infested hole in a wall to open some ancient stone door totally gives me the willies! I'm equally unfond of rats, spiders and other creepy crawlies (not snakes, however), but it's the ugh factor, not fear.
Nope, can't think of anything else that might qualify as a fear. Now, there are tons of things out there I could challenge myself to do that would push my comfort zone: sky diving, swimming in the ocean at night (I worry about losing shore), backpacking alone (I'm not fond of sleeping outdoors alone), taking a long solo bike trip, traveling to really exotic cities (like Bangkok).... Given the opportunity, though, I'd do any of these things in a heartbeat. A few demonstrate some irrational issues on my part, but generally it's not fear that stops me, it's time, opportunity, money...excuses, excuses.
What about you? Do you have fears you're unwilling to face, or some that perhaps it's time to find a way to face?
