I remember reading in one of my mountain climbing books of a situation where a man, roped together with another man, had fallen into a deep crevasse. There he hung with no way to get back up, tethered to his partner. His partner sat down on the ice to try and keep from being pulled in himself but it was slippery and on a slope, so inch by inch he was pulled down, too. He had no way of arresting himself, no way to gain purchase on the ice. He finally realized that the only way he could save himself was to cut the rope and in effect, sacrifice his friend. That is until the rope suddenly gave way down in the crevasse. His friend knew he was pulling the other man down with him, that there was no way the man up top could pull him up. He also knew he was the one who had taken the wrong step and unless he could climb out himself, he wasn’t getting out. He was taking full responsibility for the problem, so at last he cut the rope.
That's what life is all about, taking responsibility for your actions. We have had people during the pandemic that wore masks and did all of the things they were asked to keep from getting sick and infecting others. They hated it, they felt they were stronger then COVID and would survive. It was their right to live the way they wanted to. But in the end, they knew it wasn’t just about them. They loved their friends and family enough to do it to protect them. They took responsibility for their actions.
Thank you to everyone who is responsible and looked out for others. We will make it through this.
Mike Holst
Crosslake
