Climbing lessons

I don’t remember when I started to like climbing and rocks. Maybe I started to like rocks when I started to love mountains and climbing maybe a long, long time ago at the meetings of The geography club.

I remember once we went with the club in the Cismigiu park and we found there an area with a small artificial mountain that we climbed all after-noon. And I remember that I was very happy when I reached the top of that mountain, using the small and big rocks as steps.
 I don’t remember very well why I went for the first time at the indoor climbing hall. Maybe it was because I wanted to do something new. Or maybe it was missing the mountains, the souvenir of some attempt of climbing in a summer camp. But I know that the lesson I learned on that day was exactly what I needed.
Two moths ago I started to take climbing classes. As a promise to myself that I could also do things not only dream of them. And one of the reasons which made me take my rucksack and go every week to the climbing class was also the variety of life lessons that I learned there.
 I learned that it is ok to fall and to make mistakes. These are part of my process of learning and not signs that I am not good enough for…climbing. I learned that Rome wasn't built in a day and that sometimes not even a climbing wall was not conquered in a day. And that I must have more patience with myself and with others.
I learned that life resembles a climbing wall and also the panel can be experienced in two ways. You can live life in big hops, forcing you to arrive from one point to other but without thinking at your final destination. There are people for whom it is enough to arrive at a certain point and when they will arrive there they will think also think about the next steep. Or you can live life thinking about your final destination and making all your steps with the final destination in your mind. But for doing that it is important to have a final destination in your mind.
 I learned that most of the time the battle with the climbing wall is won first in your mind and after that on the field. I still clearly remember the battles with my first bouldering wall or with my first overhanging wall and I am sure that there were occasions when I lost because I started to climb with the thought that I will not arrive at the end or on the top, despite of others' trust. And when I won, it was also because of a better attitude. Yes, technique, strength and exercise are important. But you can have all of this and lose if you are not determined to win.
My last lesson was one about trust and its multiple faces. Trust in you and trust in the one next to you. Trust is not just to have someone at the lower end of the rope telling you all the time that you can do it but also to have someone who doesn’t say anything but in their silence you know you can trust them to say what's needed. And sometimes a smile counts for more than 1000 encouragements. Trust means sometimes that the other one tells you "no" when the only thing that you want to do is to descend and to fell floor under your feet. This is because the one who assures you has enough trust in you that you can overcome that moment and he knows how big your joy will be when you will arrive at the top.
During the classes I learned that more often the others have more faith in me then myself. Sometimes, trust means that the other decides to climb even thought you don't yet master very well all the knots and the movements for assuring . And he decides to do that for the second time too. A trust like this leaves me speechless and motivates me to give my best for the third time.
Climbing means sharing lessons, counsels, observations and suggestions with the trust that the other one will accept them and take them as the counsels of a friend who wants you to enjoy more and become a better climber.
Climbing is also about friendship and joy. The joy of sharing the victories with someone who will understand you, who knows what it means to continue when your hands slip, your heart beats very fast and you are a little bit afraid. And when you make mistakes, the other one will not tell you that you are not good but he will smile, give you suggestion about what you can do differently and motivate you to try one more time.
These are just some of the lessons I have learned from the bottom or the top of the climbing wall and I can’t wait to learn more.