I Was Dimly Aware That I Might

Unlike Most Of Life, What You Do Really Matters. Your Actions Have Real Consequences. You Have To Pay Attention And Focus, And That's Very Satisfying. It Forces You To Pay Great Attention And You Lose Yourself In The Task At Hand. Without The Risk, That Wouldn't Happen, So The Risk Is An Essential Part Of Climbing, And That's Hard For Some People To Grasp. You Can't Justify The Risk When Things Go Wrong And People Die. The Greater The Risk, The Greater The Reward In Most Aspects Of Life, And In Climbing That's Certainly True, Too. It's Very Physical, You Use Your Mind And Your Body.

It Is Easy, When You Are Young, To Believe That What You Desire Is No Less Than What You Deserve, To Assume That If You Want Something Badly Enough, It Is Your God-given Right To Have It.

The Sea's Only Gifts Are Harsh Blows, And Occasionally The Chance To Feel Strong. Now I Don't Know Much About The Sea, But I Do Know That That's The Way It Is Here. And I Also Know How Important It Is In Life Not Necessarily To Be Strong But To Feel Strong. To Measure Yourself At Least Once. To Find Yourself At Least Once In The Most Ancient Of Human Conditions. Facing The Blind Death Stone Alone, With Nothing To Help You But Your Hands And Your Own Head.

Mr. Franz, I Think Careers Are A 20th Century Invention And I Don't Want One. You Don’t Need To Worry About Me; I Have A College Education. I’m Not Destitute. I'm Living Like This By Choice.

When You Forgive, You Love. And When You Love, God’s Light Shines Through You.