Oh, How I love it! After a session of climbing, if I have pushed myself, almost everything hurts. My fingers feel so stiff. Almost always I sport a new scrape on my fingers or elbows or knees. Sometimes, I end up peeling some skin too. The forearms are a little tight and tired. The arms, the legs all feel like they have been beaten – just a little.
The aches. When I walk, the whole body almost groans. Why do I like this? Why would anyone like physical discomfort?
I like it because I feel alive. Every ache is a celebration that I am alive, that my body is being used for what it was built, the body has moved the way it should. It is a celebration of how amazingly well the human body is designed. About how I am more than my thoughts.
In the end, I think I love this state because it is all about forgtting myself – the mind and totally immersing myself – the body, and in the moment. There is a purity, a simplicity in this which brings a deep joy and peace within. The pain make me human.
July 19, 2013