Walking the Plank
May. 25th, 2011 12:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snousleI'm quite fascinated with things that are "psychologically" impossible to do. Here's a good one:
This is a fallen tree at Pine Flat which is about 2' in diameter. On the part that rests on the ground, it's easy to walk on - you can even dance a little jig without any chance of falling off. But for the part that's hanging over the river, it's a different story:
Even though it's absolutely solid and no different from the section on the ground, I found it TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE to walk out on it. Aside from the fact that if you fell you'd almost certainly drown in the river - it flows VERY fast - the movement of the river itself seems to have a lot to do with it. Having things move under your feet like that is kind of dizzying and makes it hard to move at all.
I spent a little time trying to make myself walk to the end, but it was like trying to force your way through a brick wall. My body simply refused to do it. I would love to have the variety of discipline that could overcome that sort of fear.
This is a fallen tree at Pine Flat which is about 2' in diameter. On the part that rests on the ground, it's easy to walk on - you can even dance a little jig without any chance of falling off. But for the part that's hanging over the river, it's a different story:
Even though it's absolutely solid and no different from the section on the ground, I found it TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE to walk out on it. Aside from the fact that if you fell you'd almost certainly drown in the river - it flows VERY fast - the movement of the river itself seems to have a lot to do with it. Having things move under your feet like that is kind of dizzying and makes it hard to move at all.
I spent a little time trying to make myself walk to the end, but it was like trying to force your way through a brick wall. My body simply refused to do it. I would love to have the variety of discipline that could overcome that sort of fear.
