Inversion of Trust

by Calumn Hockey (Australia)

A decision that pushed me to the edge Australia

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There’s a fine line between pressing the snooze button to uncovering the comforts of lying in bed, reaching to the ceiling and getting on with the beginning of the day. Let’s just be honest, outside looked terrible with sleet blowing onto the window outside, why did I even bother? Dense up-slope fog pressed through the gaps in the conifer trees, swaying in time with my thoughts to why I still wasn’t laying in the warmth of my bed. As the line of conifers became distant stems of dark green, my eyes are drawn to a faint line of ice clinging precariously close the shards of schist below. My feet begin to develop traction as I trudge ever so closer to the summit; however my mind continues to drift back to the comforts of home. Every step I gain elevation, the line becomes more clear, as if it was progressing towards a barrier from me and my comfort zone. Thick, grey fog began to break with every movement toward the summit. Next thing I know, a feeling of warmth begins to press onto the shivering skin of my cheeks. It began to feel that I needed to take each painstaking step and if I didn’t I would end up in a world much too comfortable for what I perceived. What grew in front of me became brighter and brighter. A pale blue light began to thaw any decision to turn around. My cheeks, once red with cold air soaked in those first rays of light as I passed from the depths of the inversion fog to into the pressing warmth of what many would not know lay above them. That thin line between getting out of bed and breaking through the barrier of pain and cold became an inversion layer, drifting from the rippling surface of Lake Wakatipu to the crooked ice peak of Ben Lomond, all that need is a simple decision. Ben Lomond summit was reached at 09:05am and what remained below became swayed in a complexion of New Zealand’s winter as the harsh conditions swelled beneath. That morning in New Zealand, I had a choice. Should I press snooze? Or should I take a risk into an unknown void that would one day be the deciding factor that would guide me to summiting some New Zealand’s and Australia’s most difficult peaks or to saying ‘yes’ to a 48 hour non-stop hike to helping people in need. A fine line can tip you any direction, but once you break that through that layer anything is possible. Choose with your heart and just trust what's behind that wall you are facing because it will be something truly beautiful.