Master of Fear

There I found myself gazing at the magazine rack, where I briefly locked eyes with a rock climbing magazine.  A flash of nostalgia. I began thinking of Dan Osman.  A better master of fear I don’t know ever existed.  Known as a free soloist (Rock climbing without ropes) I appreciated his strength, his conditioning and his fearlessness.  In his book “Fall of the Phantom Lord” Andrew Toddhunter recounts that Dan Osman “realized then that it was not in climbing, but in falling, that he would embrace his fear . . . and move beyond it.”

I guess it was that, that led to an over 1000 foot free fall on a rope system putting him into the Guinness book of world records.  It was also this fascination that led to his death in 1998 when his rope system failed when he attempted another jump in Yosemite.

This got me thinking during the week about FEAR.  What was it about this primal instinct that can drive a person in one of two directions.  You can pass out in your wife’s arms while running away after passing the pet store spider enclosure (There is something unnatural about anything with 8 legs and 8 eyes).  Or like Dan Osman step out to meet it.

The thing with fear, is that it can manifest itself in the form of survival instinct (as with large fanged spiders), or the brain can spawn fear to avoid other human emotions, such as embarrassment, anger, heartbreak, etc.  You have to ask, what is the real risk to facing this fear with a Dan Osman attitude.  What I noticed is that the majority of the time when I asked the question, the fear was unwarranted and only inhibited me from an experience I could grow from.

I’m not saying to throw caution to the wind; (it didn’t work out for Dan), but to at least look at the consequences of facing your fear head on, and if it is not justified, mow it down like grass.

"Anything I've ever done that ultimately was worthwhile initially scared me to death.”

Anonymous