What does it mean to be foolish? I was interested to read about the Cantanbrian canoeist who took to the wave at Kairaki Beach during a storm. He obviously got into serious trouble that resulted in a police hunt for his body. Fortunately his body rescued itself after a long battle.
From the perspective of a remote wielding armchair observer, I’d say the guy was foolish. What sort of idiot hops into a Tupperware container armed only with a paddle for a quick jaunt in massive waves? An adventurous news making idiot, that’s who.
Yet what would life be like without them? Imagine a world without pioneering mountain climbers or the sticky fingers of Alain Robert who scrambles up tall buildings. What about rock climbers hanging upside down by their fingernails thousands of feet up a cliff face? So far as I’m aware a these endeavours have elements of foolishness, but they are also tinged with courage, adventure, tenacity and competition. They are the sort of antics that make general nobodies famous on YouTube.
What makes people like this so news worthy though? I guess I love them when they succeed because I’m in awe of the achievement. In some voyeuristic way they fulfill my own dreams of conquering the fears that keep me so ordinary - and alive.
On the other hand, when they fail I have the pleasure of calling them foolish or idiots because it justifies the sensibility of my often uninspiring existence. It’s not that I think I’m boring, but I don’t really get the idea of risking my life for fame or adrenalin.
So where’s the line between foolishness and heroic? I’m not sure there is one. Essentially fools and heroes are created by the outcomes and the beholders.
Nevertheless, it does make you sit up and wonder what makes life interesting and challenging. We all have interests of one sort or another, but some people take hobbies to the extreme. The difference between them comes down to three things: interest in the task, developing the skill required and the level of a person’s fear. The latter is most significant.
Most of us have fears. Some are good, but many fears cripple our ability to live well. It might come as a surprise to know that those who swim with sharks, paddle down massive waterfalls or do somersaults on motorcycles are often terrified of things the rest of us find run-of-the-mill: commitment to relationships, dealing with conflict, telling the truth or coping with the ordinary mundane responsibilities of life.
Courage, adventure, tenacity and fear don’t require extreme activities. They can be exercised each day. Standing up to a workplace bully, choosing to work at a struggling marriage, or simply apologising. Fear is not just about death, it can also be about living well. Likewise, changing destructive habits that have become friends can be just as frightening and difficult as scaling a thirty floor building.
Sometimes it feels easier and safer to stay as we are. Yet living safely can be just as foolish as living dangerously.