So I didn’t get to really explain much about my last post, the video. I’ll take this opportunity to explain myself.

I’m not an exceptionally brave person. I try to be passionate, and dedicated. The feelings that this video invokes in me make me believe I could be a better person. It’s silly I know. I mean how could a video about rope jumping give someone any sort of hope, or belief? I’m not a particularly religious person by extent, but I think just the act of imagining, the very thought of being as free as the people in that video… Well it’s probably the closest I’ve been to a “religious experience”. This coming from the guy who gets nauseous on roller coasters.

It reminds me of climbing with my brother, hiking… waking up at the brown eye of dawn in the cool morning. Not having to get dressed because I was wearing the same clothes from the night before. Piling into the car and going bouldering or hiking. That early morning chill when nothing weighs on your mind, your body doesn’t complain about being jostled from its peaceful slumber. Sitting in the dirt or on a giant boulder in the middle of the woods in North Carolina and being completely at ease. Being 100% free of concern. Falling asleep in the noon day sun on the edge of a cliff. Eating Clif Bars, or yellow Mahatma rice out of a camping pot. Bundling up inside of a borrowed sleeping bag. Staying up late by the campfire, drinking good beer, hearing good stories. Climbing the next day.

That’s why that video means so much to me.

This little video is actually a clip from a larger video I have tucked away in a cozy part of my hard drive. I’ve made multiple copies of it, taken special measures to ensure the survival through upgrades and formats. It’s incredible that it traveled all the way from probably my favorite places, Boulder; on a 256M thumb drive, copied from laptop to laptop, email, uploaded, downloaded… and finally loved.

If anyone is interested in the full video, let me know. I think I might have a copy of it somewhere.