Climbers and Pilots

I just finished the book "No Shortcuts to the Top" -- by and about Ed Viesturs, a guy who has climbed all fourteen 8000m mountains. I love reading about climbing, because it's something I would never do. I especially love reading stuff written by the actual climber, because I see this thing common to all of their personalities, and it fascinates me: a confidence that borders on arrogance.

When there is an accident, and people even lose their life, there is this calm rationalizing that it was human error that caused the accident, and an assumption that they won't commit those errors. Some of them come off as very arrogant.

I've read a couple of books about pilots, and the best is the Tom Wolfe book about astronauts (back in the day, the astronauts were test pilots, and test pilots were the cream-of-the-crop who tested proto-type planes, testing their limits, risking their life while acting very casual about it, etc..) He shows this attitude in the test pilots. Their friend might crash and die that day during a test , and they are definitely sad, but they also talk about the errors he made. Also, they don't say "crash" or "die", they use casual jargon...

They always say that surgeons are arrogant, too...so I was thinking about this arrogance -- that it's one way to deal with facing possible death (or causing death, in the surgeon's case)...it's a kind of courage, and I respect it. I'd rather a person like that fly my plane, or take out my appendix.

Another way people face possible death:

Lucas is interested in WWII, and has watched the Band of Brothers many times. We were talking about the young men living with their mortality staring them in the face like that. He said that one soldier's attitude was to consider himself 'already dead'. Write himself off - treat it as a given - and then he could go and do what he was trained to do without fear. Learning that made me respect soldiers even more.

And another way I've seen a person face possible death:

A well-respected man at our church has a form of brain cancer that may not heal. Our pastor interviewed him and his wife, and his way of dealing with it amazed me. He can say it, flat out. He is not afraid. His only concern is his family, his wife (he even tried to arrange another marriage for her for when he is gone...she joked about how controlling he can be...I am amazed/emotional again just writing this down). But he is full of faith, and trust. And so sure of the goodness of God.


My confession: I think about the word recently preached: "This is the end of all men, and the living take it to heart."
I want the husband's mindset- not even for thinking about my death, but just in life. The climber/pilot way would never work for me - I'm too incompetent. If I'm honest with myself, I'm closer to the soldier way. My predestination ideas have a little tinge of futility.