In the book, 'The Razors Edge' by W. Somerset Maugham, a ruthless and crass Polish coal miner surprises the lead character, Larry Darrell during a game of cards by admonishing him about his lack of familiarity with the mystical teachings found in the Hindu Upanishads."The Upanishads speak of a universal spirit (Brahman) and an individual soul, and at times assert the identity of both. Brahman is the ultimate, both transcendent and immanent, the absolute infinite existence, the sum total of all that ever is, was, or shall be. The mystical nature and intense philosophical bent of the Upanishads has led to their explication in numerous manners, giving birth to three main schools of Vedanta."
The Polish coal miner cheats at cards and then taunts Larry for all of his searching and reading by saying, "You mean you've never read the Upanishads? You really don't know anything do you."
When Kit Delauriers becomes the first person in history (man or woman) to climb and then ski down the seven highest mountain peaks in the world we marvel at her passion, vision and courage. In her lectures, Kit describes coping with her fear and doubt and her remarkable ability to overcome panic and to reach down and focus on her inner strength to complete her dangerous descent down the Lhotse Face of Everest. Entrepreneurs will tell you that their success in business is the result of vision, insight, endless hours of hard work and, for the very few, an unbroken stream of luck. Reiki practitioners, Therapeutic Touch healers, Craniosacral therapists and mystic visionaries, will relate stories of energy fields and a current of Chi that guides and heals us.
On New Years Day in 1981, I went on a walking excursion with a couple of friends into the hills of the Golan Heights in northern Israel. We were three friends with a picnic lunch, enjoying a sunny morning after the revelry of the New Years Eve party the night before. Going up a familiar road we found a low fence and crossed onto a field and took a shortcut to an abandoned Syrian outpost where we were able to look over the wide expanse of the Hula valley and see the border of Lebanon on the other side. A few hours later after wandering about some more we crossed over another part of the fence and found to our surprise that we had just left a rocky meadow that had not been cleared of land mines since the Six Day War. The Golan Heights are full of mines and unexploded ordinance and these areas are usually well marked since the roads are well traveled and the area is populated. Somehow we had missed the sign and had spent almost the whole day wandering about on a mine field. Oops...Blogs are supposed to be a platform for journaling our thoughts, ideas and observations. When I think back to that New Year's Day in Israel of aimless sightseeing in the mine field and spin forward to the rich and complex life I experience now as a husband, father, brother, son and doctor, these circumstances and series of life events seem connected. I am the person I am now because of these experiences and have been fortunate enough to be able to advance in life's tournament through hard work, dedication and a quick splash now and then in the slipstream of good fortune that runs through the human experience.
So, what is the thread that runs between ancient mystical teachings, a lucky walkabout through a field of unexploded mines and the achievements of a world class extreme skier who does the impossible? Who knows and, in the final analysis, who really cares. The miracle of my life lies in the daily joy of staying healthy, raising a family, laughing as much as possible and doing meaningful work. Today, these are the simple things I look forward to. Tomorrow, who knows?
Luck? Skill? Mystic conjecture?
Life is a mix of all three.
Reference:
Kit Delauriers Website: http://www.kitdski.com/ and http://pursuebalance.org/
Kit is the first person in the world to have skied off the top of the 7 Summits which are the highest points on each of the 7 continents. This lofty goal was made complete with her October 18, 2006 ski descent from Mount Everest. Kit’s first international climbing expedition was to Peak Siniolchu (6,887 m) in Sikkim, India during April/May of 1998. In addition to being an accomplished skier and ski mountaineer, Kit is an experienced rock climber having led many traditional alpine routes of the Tetons with grades to 5.10. Kit volunteered extensively with the San Miguel County Search and Rescue Team often as team leader for entire rescue operations. She also worked for the Telluride Ski Resort as a professional Ski Patroller for two winter seasons. During this time Kit became a certified EMT as well as highly trained in technical and helicopter rescue.
Upanishads definition: Quoted from Wickepedia.
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