NO.121
T H E T R U S T Y S E RVA N T
work through the
challenge, identify the
risks, planning for every
conceivable outcome. It
was exciting,
challenging and allowed
an escape from the
normality of life. I began
to relish the question
‘What’s next?’
Today I find myself
in a lucky position
where adventures are a
core part of my working
life. I set up the charity
Walking With The
Wounded in 2010 to
demonstrate that,
despite injury, the
remarkable men and
women who have
served in our Armed
Forces can still achieve
extraordinary things.
We have walked to the
North Pole, attempted
to scale Everest, and in 2013 I found
myself in Antarctica, following in the
footsteps of Cherry-Garrard. Unlike him,
I was privileged enough to stand on the
Pole. Unlike him, we had modern
technology to support us: vehicles close
at hand should we require medical
attention and clothes specifically
designed to work efficiently in the
extreme environment. It was almost as if
it were too easy for us, although the
biting cold, accentuated by the wind, the
monotonous days of one ski in front of
the other, the dried rations, the noise of
the tent flapping all night long, weren’t
too different from what he and the rest of
the Terra Nova expedition experienced.
Reading his diaries and those of Captain
Scott each evening in my tent brought
home the nature of the hardship they
faced, and my respect for them only
grew.
Obviously the physical element of
any endeavour is vital, but it is not solely
what defines success. The single most
important factor is mental strength: a
belief that you can and will succeed;
confidence in those around you; the
courage to question decisions and change
them if needs be. To enter into the arena
with doubts, however small, is to open
yourself up for failure.
What is the thrill? It is the privilege
of being somewhere different, places that
most people never go. It is being able to
experience that rare opportunity of
solitude. Our world is so frenetic. We are
given little time off from the speed of
expectation. But in the wilds, on an
adventure, your phone won’t ring, there
is no requirement to answer an email,
and you don’t have to rush to make the
next meeting. Of course there is an
element of selfishness to this. Maybe I
am hiding, briefly, from my
responsibilities to my family, while
taking on the responsibility towards
those companions I find myself with,
individuals carefully selected to face the
12
challenge, people I feel I can trust should
the need arise and conditions change, or
if nature coughs. This isn’t the ‘day-today’ world, one which is predictable and
structured. This is the real world, the
beautiful, harsh, unyielding planet on
which we live, nature at its rawest, its
most beautiful, and often its most
unforgiving. To succeed provides a sense
of achievement and accomplishment
way beyond the norm. It may be briefly
championed by those who have watched
you from afar. People may even applaud
what you have done before their
attention turns to the next distraction.
But the single best, most rewarding
element is one’s own sense of success, of
achievement, the feeling of having
overcome adversity. It may not be the
reality of how we live, but it does make
life so much more stimulating and
rewarding. It means that when one looks
back over a short life there will be no
regrets.
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