19th April - Day 36 - 'There are hazards in everything one does, but there are greater hazards in doing nothing.' Shirley Williams
You will have guessed already that I didn’t take this picture on the way to work this morning. In fact I ‘borrowed’ this from Kernow Coasteering, the company that I went coasteering with off St Mary’s on the Isle of Scilly two years ago. I know… you already think I’m slightly odd cycling 4500 miles and this has raised the doubts about my state of mind even further. It could just be my age.
Having reached the 1000 mile mark and thinking about challenges, the quotation from Shirley Williams, who as you will know died last week, seemed fitting on several accounts.
Coasteering had seemed a good idea at the time. I’d been going through a bit of a hard period at work and had thought if I set myself a difficult challenge on holiday, it would give me the confidence to face everything I needed to on my return. I also thought seeing the Scilly Isles from a new angle would be inspiring. Well…I thought it would be the high jumps into the unknown that would be the frightening bit. Don’t get me wrong -your knees do tend to shake when you’re stood up on top. What I hadn’t realised is that the really frightening bit is being pulled out to sea when you’re trying to swim back in wearing a wet suit and buoyancy aids that makes swimming very difficult. Added to that is trying to get hold of a rock to stop the sea taking you again and realising the granite on the Isles rips your fingers to shreds. I’m not really selling this am I? The kids in the group loved it, as did most of the adults and the most important thing for me - was at least I’d had a go - even if I missed out the last two jumps that were too high for me and walked round the cliff top instead! Interestingly when I opted out of them, at least six others joined me and so perhaps, as we all know, it is as brave to opt out of something as to opt in.
Shirley Williams reminded us that the greatest hazard can often be doing nothing. The bystander is the one most often criticised. Coasteering reminded me that what we think will be the most frightening or difficult aspects of life is often not those we realise we have to front but, instead, the things we did not know we were going to have to face.
When I get on my bike, it’s often not the weather or the risk of punctures that ends up being the concern but the actions of other drivers or the unknown potholes. The hazards are there but we can’t hide away and do nothing. The last year has taught us how strong the human spirit can be and as things begin to open, let’s all aim to keep that spirit alive and not return to being bystanders and the hazards created when we do nothing.
“If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” T.S. Eliot