No pun intended!

I said yes to myself for more adventures with John if he could look beyond himself.. pardon the pun!

Not that he didn't, but I wanted to be sure that our next adventure together had enough substance for us both to train hard enough, to plan well enough and to motivate others to support what we were doing.

But I think, there is no grand statement here (like the Eiger Paraclimb) more of a slow burning exploration into John and I's friendship and sometimes like mindedness and sometimes our opposing views on why we do the stuff we do as a team.

It's not because of a depency from John on me but maybe a codependency where I get something from him and he gets something back from me Or is it just simply a friendship that works well in more extreme circumstances.

I met John at a difficult time in my life and what I seemed to feel in his company was that my difficulties were not just understood (ish!)  by him but were perhaps in my mind shrunk significantly by working closely with him, wether in competition in front of cameras or high on a mountain sleeping on a small sloping ledge 12000ft up in a storm, his calmness about each challenge just being met by his view that every challenge was just a process that could be dealt with. It's worked so far and although sometimes stressful or tiring, I must enjoy sight guiding with him. And I suppose that's what sums it up, with him and not for him...

One of the things I dislike most in John's company (other than when he is a tight bastard with money) is when some people patronise him and treat him like a child. He calls it 'the blind man thing'. Me, I call it 'people not looking beyond what they think they see'. That's my polite version. I'm trying to keep this clean until we secure some equipment sponsorship to make it happen. Well, it will happen, just like the Eiger 'happened'.

I'm really looking forward to the kayaking element of this with John as it will give us some time to reflect on his life I think as we paddle through calm fjords towards the Troll Wall. He never seems to reflect much openly on his experiences on how it was growing up with double sensory impairment. Blindness and deafness, not the easiest of journeys for a young lad to take in this society. But John just 'gets on with it' ... And more! And that's what you do I suppose, when fate crosses your path with something different then you don't suddenly wake up and think, I'm inspired or choose a path covered in inspirational flower petals for your inspired feet to softly tred with mindfulness etc... You just choose to say yes to another way and try and live by it.

My experience of  getting close to this is a feeling where I felt totally free. And it took me a while to link fear and freedom. When I felt free I also felt fearless and that was it, but not in that order. To feel free I needed to feel fearless. Not macho or 'I can do anything' mentality, just a very calm state of not feeling scared of much at all. John has this (a lot, not always, but a lot) and maybe that's what our partnership gives me?