Hello From Israel
- August 2007
- Uncategorized
Dear Steph,
Hello from Israel,
My wife and I are Israeli family physicians. We both share great passion for the outdoors. We spent alot of time trekking in many of the wild places on this earth. Now we have an 11 month old son and with him on the back we managed a month of trekking in norway. In Israel despite the weather and daily obligations we still manage about 1.5-2 hours of outdoors activities. In the past we also did a little rock climbing, which I hope in the near future to resume.
Well anyway, now I’m about the middle of reading your book. So far the thing that apealed to me most was the section “the rock and I” , but generally your preferences and decisions in life (and the way you write about them) are both inspiring and especially interesting to me because for many years I considered seriously to pursue a life that is closely linked to the outdoors and wildplaces. I guess in the end, I chose a path that is somewere in between, probably, sadly, more of the “ordinary” but I hope to get as much as possible “on foot” experiences in the wildplaces, which is, at the end of the day what’s really inspiring and makes me tick.
I’m also interested in outdoors ethics.
I think there are two kinds – one personal – that is within yourself – of course the purest is travelling in the mountains or climbing with the least gear that is possible. the other is between you and the place – as messner once wrote “nature in the form of rugged scenery is the best mirror of our souls. for that reason, too, we have a big responsibility for the wild places… for each tin can, each piton, each cable railway and each route, which the curious of a later generation find will be like a scratch on this mirror..”..
As a climber you probably thought about those matters more than I. I would love to hear your thoughts (if you have the time) about personal satisfaction from routes that are feasible only with technical aid (bolts, aid climbing, etc) and about climbs that require leaving tools behind on the mountain and reducing its pristinity.
Thanks again for the book and the inspiration that you give.
Itsik Barash.
Dear Itsik
Thanks for your wonderful, thoughtful letter. My brother is a doctor too (an ER doctor), and adventurer. He also struggles with his need to pursue that passion and the more simple life in wild places….but he seems to be climbing, skydiving, base jumping, surfing, mountain biking and camping more than most!
I think about being a human and living in wild places all the time. Honestly Itsik, at this point in my life, I am not very interested in talk about “ethics,” because I think it leads to judging the actions of others, and telling other people what to do. I think the most ethical practice is to decide what I think is good, and practice that as sincerely as I can. But it’s not up to me to decide what is right for others, the only person I can control is myself…..
To me, the most important tenet is to cause no harm, which is what the Dalai Lama discusses. This is one reason I am vegan, because I want to try hard to reduce harm to other living creatures. I think it is very important for humans to spend time in wild places, now that much of society has become very urbanized, and to remember that nature is the strongest force. On the most fundamental, basic level, humans will always need only shelter, water and food. It’s easy to forget this in urban environments where things are sanitized, convenient and materialistic. Going to the mountains reminds us of what is really necessary, for us to live. It’s also important to remember that all life is sacred–whether plant, animal or human. We are all living in the same world, and must not think that any one is more important or valuable than any other. I am really happy to see that people in my culture seem to be more aware of this recently. Other cultures have always known this, and do not seem to have forgotten.
So these are my thoughts. For me, ultimately, it all comes back to respect. I think if there’s one thing we should hold precious, it’s respect–for all of life.
I wish you best of adventures,
xxx Steph
