Climbing Mountains, Taking Risks

I've been reading an early play by the great Tennessee Williams over the last few weeks. I often take a break from other books I'm reading and indulge myself in a book of Williams' plays. The first play I'm reading is "Spring Storm."


"Spring Storm"is a play written by Williams when he was twenty-six years old. He was studying as an apprentice and was attending the University of Iowa. "Spring Storm" received poor reviews and it did not receive its first production until 1995 in Berkeley, California. 

In the first act, the curtain rises to reveal a high, windy bluff over the Mississippi River. It is called Lover's Leap. Two old trees whose leafless branches have been grotesquely twisted by the winds are there, along with Heavenly and Dick, two young lovers. They are discussing their future together near the edge of a cliff. Heavenly begins to climb higher up the bluff while Dick urges caution. 

Heavenly's response to Dick is that climbing up the bluff will get her closer to Heaven, where she might even see God. Dick reminds her that people can also fall when climbing, and it might be too dangerous. When climbing up a dangerous cliff you might reach a higher plateau, or you might fall and break your neck.

So when do we take the risk? When do we choose to climb higher up the slippery slope and hope to see God? It takes courage to climb up and see something beautiful. What if we fall? 

The mountain climber Ueli Steck in his native Switzerland in 2015.

Ueli Steck, a famous mountain climber nicknamed "the Swiss Machine", died earlier this year. He was 40 year old. His rapid ascents of some of the world's most imposing peaks made him renowned as one of the world's best climbers. He died in an accident at a camp near Mount Everest on April 30.

Steck was willing to risk his life to climb the highest mountains in the world for his own private reasons. For him, the risk was worth it. Falling was always a possibility. But he climbed. For him the ascent upward was a life and death decision on a daily basis. 

For most of us, taking a risk to achieve something greater is not a life and death decision. It involves risks, no doubt. But our lives are not in danger. Want to write a book? Will you fail? So what? You won't die. Want to go back to school and get a degree? Will it be costly? Will you go in debt? So what? It won't kill you. 

Tennessee Williams set up the play "Spring Storm" in a terrific first act, with risk and danger and darkness on the horizon. Young lovers at odds over their future sets up a dynamic scene. Death, too, is present. What kind of life is it, to take no risk, to play it safe, to not ascend a mountain?