MOUNTAINEERS & ARTISTS AREN'T SO DIFFERENT  

SPIRIT OF MAN     

One of the beautiful simplicities to have come out of Living Art is to see new direct comparisons; similarities and patterns that otherwise would go unnoticed. Artists and Mountaineers are not so different in our eyes.  
They are both looking for the edge, pushing at the limit of their abilities and their art, searching and finding more elegant and poetical solutions to problems. Whether you are smashing an ice axe into a Grade VII ice wall with adrenalin pumping through to every capillary of your oxygen starved body or creating a great interpretation on a landscape, the edge is being sought and the subject is held in uncompromising focus. Experiencing the now - the immediacy of the moment - is their common ground.  
Now on the Edge 
Great art is created from great periods of prolonged concentration in pursuit of the moment of now - the point at which time stands still and waves of clarity wash through the body. In other more spiritual practises this could be described as realising the universal consciousness, the point at which we comprehend that we are all at one with everything. Holding this thought is so difficult on a day-to-day basis and so largely goes unpractised. We are so distracted by the great number of small and insignificant details of modern life such as buying an iPod or another gadget designed to keep us housebound and ever more   distanced from the beauty, wonder and space of the earth.  
What is important is that we respect this edge because it is within this focussed activity that lies the answer to happiness, peace and understanding. Remembering to open ourselves to this opportunity will help knock the world back in balance. I've never met a boring great climber or great artist - you may not like them but hey, they know something us mere mortals don't - respect!  
Si Homfray