for fun's sake

Someone once pulled me aside, having overheard a conversation between colleagues, and, being of a different generation, asked

"What's all this about 'comfort zones'? When I was young there were things you did want to do and things you didn't. You had to do the things you didn't want to do and you waited to do the things you did."

Thankfully I am blessed with a life where I actually have the option of making those choices but this comment makes me reconsider what choices I make and whether or not they are the right ones every time I'm confronted with a decision to make.

Climbing is something I very much do for the fun of it but it is riddled with these moments. The intense, short experience of leading a route can cause you to come away feeling like you've made a life-time's worth of (potentially) life or death decisions. People I know who aren't into this kind of thing often assume I love taking risks, pushing limits or chasing rushes of adrenaline when actually the truth is quite the opposite. For me the satisfaction I get from climbing, and other similar sports, is the feeling of having done something well, having been successful and being very much in control throughout.

And now the God bit - simply put, deciding to live faithfully is simultaneously the most exposed yet peaceful and satisfying choice I've ever made and will continue to make. I'd thoroughly recommend it.