Aron Ralston and 127 Hours Between a Rock and a Hard Place
A few years ago my sister told me about Aron Ralston, the hiker that cut off his own arm in order to escape a canyon after a boulder fell on him. I was fascinated, but I couldn't bring myself to see the movie--I cringed at the thought.
Last summer, I noticed Aron's book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, on the new books display at the library (although it was published in 2004, it was newly acquired, most likely due to demand after the movie release in 2011). I grabbed the book and was hooked to it for the next week--I read at every opportunity. One evening, I'd planned to watch a movie with my husband but he got caught up with some work and couldn't get away. Though I was frustrated and feeling a bit neglected, I was happy to get back to reading.
Later that week I was talking to a friend about, among other things, what had happened that night--and I explained that it was OK in the end because I preferred to read my book anyway--and she said, "It sounds like you're between a rock and a hard place." I hadn't told my friend the title of the book I was reading, but she had just said it at the moment I was talking about reading it. I did a double take and thought back through my comments, trying to rationalize the coincidence--but I was sure I hadn't mentioned the title. I counted it as a synchronicity, but I doubted it a little bit until the coincidence was repeated the next morning.
Many years before, this friend of mine had recommended I read The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner and I had finally checked it out of the library the week before and started reading it concurrently with Aron's book. I was finding Lerner's book hard to put down--I was learning so much about emotions, most importantly that anger is a natural and acceptable feeling which has gotten a bum rap in civilized society.
After talking to my friend I was feeling very uplifted, wondering about the synchronicity, about what it meant and whether it was a mere coincidence. I went home and in the evening started reading The Dance of Anger. I was about half way through the book when Lerner reviewed some of the cases she had presented (each chapter, Lerner presents a case study, a vignette about real women she has worked with in her counseling practice.) There was one case I didn't recognize and I realized that I had somehow skipped a chapter early in the book--by the way, I don't use bookmarks, but I don't often miss a chapter by accident. I turned back and found the story about a woman that had called Lerner the night before she was to give a conference on anger. The woman asked to cancel her registration, explaining that though she really wanted to attend, her husband thought it was a waste of time and refused to allow her to go. Already I was relating to this woman as I was in the midst of a similar issue with my own husband.
For two years I had wanted to go to the Seed Saver's Exchange conference in Decorah, Iowa, just a few hours drive away. At the conference I could learn about heirloom seeds and gardening, and tour the farms of one of the first non-profit organizations in the country working to preserve heirloom seeds. I felt proud to have Seed Savers in Iowa, a pride that intensified after I read Barbara Kingsolver's description of it in the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I had planned on going in 2010 but my husband wouldn't go with me and my son was too young to leave behind (in my opinion) or take with me (in my husband's opinion). So in 2011 I was really excited and planned to go with my brother, my son, and a friend of my husband. My husband kept coming up with a new reason why I shouldn't go, and I kept finding ways to work around the issues he pointed out. I now know that by going I missed his going away party at his last day of work, and I feel sorry about that, but I'm still glad I went. We camped for three days in rain and record high temps, we ate incredible locally grown food, hiked to the orchard through the woods where raspberries grew wild, attended classes on growing garlic and using fresh herbs, and waded in a freezing spring fed stream. We all had a fantastic time.
Anyway, at the time I was reading Lerner's account of this woman I was either just about to attend or had just come back from the conference. I felt an uncontrollable urge to keep reading, even though I was exhausted--the same kind of urge that Gabe felt to buy that first teapot (see the Teapots Happen post if you don't know what I'm talking about). But I fell asleep.
The next morning I woke up and continued reading and in the next paragraph I stumbled upon it. Lerner states that the woman is "between a rock and a hard place." I felt sure that the intuition I felt to keep reading was related to the synchronicity awaiting me. Twice in one day hitting the same phrase which also happened to be the title of another book I was reading...this had to have some meaning.
For a few days or weeks I tried to find what it was the synchronicity meant. I was obsessed with Aron's story because I believed that if I could find the connection between my own experience and his, I would have the key. First I finished the book and then I watched all the documentaries and his motivational speeches on YouTube. Then I tried to get my hands on the movie, 127 Hours, but had to wait for it to become available at the library. While I waited, I contemplated the synchronicities in his story.
Aron describes what I consider several synchronous experiences in his book. First, while he was missing, a friend of his had a vision of him in a cramped space. After the vision she felt extremely thirsty and drank several bottles of water (Aron was severely dehydrated).
Another synchronicity was that Aron believed that it would be impossible to cut off his arm using the knife (it was too dull to cut through the bones) up until he became convinced that he was going to get out alive--the vision that convinced him that he would live was of his future son. After he made it out he got married and had a son.
Once he knew he would get out alive, he had a bit of an epiphany--he didn't need to cut through his bones, he could simply break them by using his body weight as leverage. I think that Aron stated that had he cut off his arm sooner, he most likely would have died on his way to a hospital. But because it took him about 5 days--127 hours--to realize the bit about breaking his bones, his family and friends had time to discover that he was missing and put together a search party. And at the same time he got out and hiked up to his car, a helicopter was landing and carried him to a hospital so he wasn't forced to drive himself the hour or so to a hospital.
It wasn't until I rented the movie 127 hours at RedBox and watched it that I made the connection between Aron and myself. Aron was stuck between a literal rock and hard place for five days which forced him to realize that his relationships were more important to him than anything else in his life, and he sacrificed his arm to be free. He had to change himself to win his release. I was stuck between a metaphorical rock and hard place and I couldn't just sit there in denial and expect the rock or the wall to move--I would have to change myself if I expected my circumstances to improve.
The next morning I awoke early, the sunrise shining on my face. It was the first sunrise I'd seen in what seemed like years and it felt almost mystical, like I'd finally broken free from the dark canyon and come out alive, ready to start a new phase in my life. And I believe the realization I had about changing myself has served as a turning point in my life. For the last year, I've been really content--nothing gets me down. I am secure and even-keeled; when something starts to rock the boat for me emotionally, a synchronicity happens and seems to regulate me back to stability. Furthermore, I moved from being a stay-at-home mom to starting a full-time job, which has felt like fulfilling a calling. I feel like I'm exactly where I should be in my life.
Last summer, I noticed Aron's book, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, on the new books display at the library (although it was published in 2004, it was newly acquired, most likely due to demand after the movie release in 2011). I grabbed the book and was hooked to it for the next week--I read at every opportunity. One evening, I'd planned to watch a movie with my husband but he got caught up with some work and couldn't get away. Though I was frustrated and feeling a bit neglected, I was happy to get back to reading.
Later that week I was talking to a friend about, among other things, what had happened that night--and I explained that it was OK in the end because I preferred to read my book anyway--and she said, "It sounds like you're between a rock and a hard place." I hadn't told my friend the title of the book I was reading, but she had just said it at the moment I was talking about reading it. I did a double take and thought back through my comments, trying to rationalize the coincidence--but I was sure I hadn't mentioned the title. I counted it as a synchronicity, but I doubted it a little bit until the coincidence was repeated the next morning.
Many years before, this friend of mine had recommended I read The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner and I had finally checked it out of the library the week before and started reading it concurrently with Aron's book. I was finding Lerner's book hard to put down--I was learning so much about emotions, most importantly that anger is a natural and acceptable feeling which has gotten a bum rap in civilized society.
After talking to my friend I was feeling very uplifted, wondering about the synchronicity, about what it meant and whether it was a mere coincidence. I went home and in the evening started reading The Dance of Anger. I was about half way through the book when Lerner reviewed some of the cases she had presented (each chapter, Lerner presents a case study, a vignette about real women she has worked with in her counseling practice.) There was one case I didn't recognize and I realized that I had somehow skipped a chapter early in the book--by the way, I don't use bookmarks, but I don't often miss a chapter by accident. I turned back and found the story about a woman that had called Lerner the night before she was to give a conference on anger. The woman asked to cancel her registration, explaining that though she really wanted to attend, her husband thought it was a waste of time and refused to allow her to go. Already I was relating to this woman as I was in the midst of a similar issue with my own husband.
For two years I had wanted to go to the Seed Saver's Exchange conference in Decorah, Iowa, just a few hours drive away. At the conference I could learn about heirloom seeds and gardening, and tour the farms of one of the first non-profit organizations in the country working to preserve heirloom seeds. I felt proud to have Seed Savers in Iowa, a pride that intensified after I read Barbara Kingsolver's description of it in the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I had planned on going in 2010 but my husband wouldn't go with me and my son was too young to leave behind (in my opinion) or take with me (in my husband's opinion). So in 2011 I was really excited and planned to go with my brother, my son, and a friend of my husband. My husband kept coming up with a new reason why I shouldn't go, and I kept finding ways to work around the issues he pointed out. I now know that by going I missed his going away party at his last day of work, and I feel sorry about that, but I'm still glad I went. We camped for three days in rain and record high temps, we ate incredible locally grown food, hiked to the orchard through the woods where raspberries grew wild, attended classes on growing garlic and using fresh herbs, and waded in a freezing spring fed stream. We all had a fantastic time.
Anyway, at the time I was reading Lerner's account of this woman I was either just about to attend or had just come back from the conference. I felt an uncontrollable urge to keep reading, even though I was exhausted--the same kind of urge that Gabe felt to buy that first teapot (see the Teapots Happen post if you don't know what I'm talking about). But I fell asleep.
The next morning I woke up and continued reading and in the next paragraph I stumbled upon it. Lerner states that the woman is "between a rock and a hard place." I felt sure that the intuition I felt to keep reading was related to the synchronicity awaiting me. Twice in one day hitting the same phrase which also happened to be the title of another book I was reading...this had to have some meaning.
For a few days or weeks I tried to find what it was the synchronicity meant. I was obsessed with Aron's story because I believed that if I could find the connection between my own experience and his, I would have the key. First I finished the book and then I watched all the documentaries and his motivational speeches on YouTube. Then I tried to get my hands on the movie, 127 Hours, but had to wait for it to become available at the library. While I waited, I contemplated the synchronicities in his story.
Aron describes what I consider several synchronous experiences in his book. First, while he was missing, a friend of his had a vision of him in a cramped space. After the vision she felt extremely thirsty and drank several bottles of water (Aron was severely dehydrated).
Another synchronicity was that Aron believed that it would be impossible to cut off his arm using the knife (it was too dull to cut through the bones) up until he became convinced that he was going to get out alive--the vision that convinced him that he would live was of his future son. After he made it out he got married and had a son.
Once he knew he would get out alive, he had a bit of an epiphany--he didn't need to cut through his bones, he could simply break them by using his body weight as leverage. I think that Aron stated that had he cut off his arm sooner, he most likely would have died on his way to a hospital. But because it took him about 5 days--127 hours--to realize the bit about breaking his bones, his family and friends had time to discover that he was missing and put together a search party. And at the same time he got out and hiked up to his car, a helicopter was landing and carried him to a hospital so he wasn't forced to drive himself the hour or so to a hospital.
It wasn't until I rented the movie 127 hours at RedBox and watched it that I made the connection between Aron and myself. Aron was stuck between a literal rock and hard place for five days which forced him to realize that his relationships were more important to him than anything else in his life, and he sacrificed his arm to be free. He had to change himself to win his release. I was stuck between a metaphorical rock and hard place and I couldn't just sit there in denial and expect the rock or the wall to move--I would have to change myself if I expected my circumstances to improve.
The next morning I awoke early, the sunrise shining on my face. It was the first sunrise I'd seen in what seemed like years and it felt almost mystical, like I'd finally broken free from the dark canyon and come out alive, ready to start a new phase in my life. And I believe the realization I had about changing myself has served as a turning point in my life. For the last year, I've been really content--nothing gets me down. I am secure and even-keeled; when something starts to rock the boat for me emotionally, a synchronicity happens and seems to regulate me back to stability. Furthermore, I moved from being a stay-at-home mom to starting a full-time job, which has felt like fulfilling a calling. I feel like I'm exactly where I should be in my life.
So maybe 10 minutes ago I sent you the email comparing the two similar photos of you and my girlfriend. Then came here to read your back stories ... I just I read "For two years I had wanted to go to the Seed Saver's Exchange conference in Decorah, Iowa, just a few hours drive away. At the conference I could learn about heirloom seeds and gardening, and tour the farms of one of the first non-profit organizations in the country working to preserve heirloom seeds," and I since Kristin is starting her own organic farm and orders from Seed Savers, I read it to her aloud, continuing on into "I felt proud to have Seed Savers in Iowa, a pride that intensified after I read Barbara Kingsolver's description of it ..." and Kristin laughed and showed me the book she was reading while I was on the internet - a different book by that same author.
ReplyDelete(She wants to go to that conference too, but never has. )
Anyway - you have a great way of explaining complex coincidences lucidly. It's a tricky thing to do, I struggle with it at times (and sometimes the web of coincidences is so complex and subtle that I don't even try to explain em, knowing it'll be incredibly difficult to do.)
In the picture you pointed out I was reading The Alchemist, which was a gift from my friend Rachel when my son was born. The book was my re-introduction to the idea of magic.
ReplyDeleteYea for Kristen and her organic farm!! I love growing veggies--last year I grew Long Tom Roma Tomatoes from Seed Savers and they were the best thing! My husband usually scoffs at my obsession with organic gardening and tomatoes. But when he started using Long Toms in his salsa he said the flavors reminded him of the food his grandma served every Sunday to all of the workers on his dad's farm/market garden.
So which Kingsolver book was Kristen reading?
ha! that's awesome and perfectly apt. Kristin is reading Prodigal Summer, which she says is quite apt for her as it features both a forest service worker (which she used to be) and a farmer. And she grows the Amish Paste tomatoes from Seed Savers. I think that the taste of all the things she grows are so superior to the standard american-issue crap I used to eat, I don't think I could go back!
ReplyDelete