Unchallenged...

I am getting bored... Not having a challenge, mental or physical, its driving me crazy...

Political correctness, processes and procedures. Playing silly mundane games to please a poor performer and trick

him or her to act as you need... Why? The answer is straightforward; because I can do it, and I can do it quite easily...

But I am bored. There is no excitement in my life - not to the level I was used to. And there lies the problem... Is it time to go back, backtrack?

Look up...

The sun is scorching hot, burning your shoulders, the warmth penetrating your mind and your body. Energy and lethargy hitting you together in a confusing bundle...

Look up...

The rock is burning hot... Maybe its too late, maybe you should have gone earlier. But the dive once you are up... Is it worth it?

Yes...

Look up...

You have the first 10 meters of climb mapped. It is doable... Even now, barefoot and untrained, it is still doable... It’s the other 10 meters that present the challenge.

Look up... You are ready, its time to start...

Right hand on the rock... Fuck, it’s hot and rough... Wind, rain and sea have made the rock rough, spiky and sharp... It hurts if you focus on one single point... So much for weight on one point, it has to be distributed evenly... And no swings... After all, you are alone...

5 meters up... Easy climb... So far... But the cuts and nicks are growing, and the rock is getting, well, unreliable... Grips must me tested thoroughly before you put your weight on - fat bastard, you cannot even climb any longer. Ego and stubbornness force a smile on your face; you will get up there and dive!

10 meters... Midway, another 10 to go...

Hmmm... No decision for this point on. Just climb... Just get there...

Idiot... Standstill!

Cannot go up, the rock is weak, no grip available, no place to out pressure on and pull up... No way to go back, no way to climb down... Standstill...

Relax... Look around... Fuck... No way to dive from here... That big pointy rock waiting underneath looks painful...

And then it happens...

You look at your hand with disbelief holding the piece of rock that used to be part of the larger picture, while gravity takes care of the rest! And then you remember the pointy rock... And your actions are...accurate and fast... Spin, face the water, push away with your feet against the wall - pain, but it is far less than the one waiting for you down at ground zero...warmth, blood running down your leg - all you need to do is just dive a bit further from the pointy painful rock...

Water comes to wash away all fears... Success...

Now, to do it from the top... Again, and again and again and again, until no bone or muscle can support failure or unit you succeed...

(antipaxoi, 2005)