Extreme: Banff Film Festival

Continuing on our extreme theme this week. I attended the screening of the Banff Mountain Film Festival in Cape Town. I was blown away by how the creativity of the film makers and the daring of the sportsmen were combined to bring me to a place of an adrenaline-inspired awe! 

Below are some pictures of the various stories that were shown in the combined short-film version. All these stories had to have a few things in common: Mountains, danger and skill. One thing that struck me was the overwhelming sense of focus that each one of these people had. The task at hand was the single most important thing in their lives, at that time. This could be due to the fact that these were life and death situations, but I strongly believe that our ability to stay focused and accomplish the task at hand will eventually separate the success stories from the not-so successful stories.

Sketchy Andy slack-lining across canyons, without a safety harness. He tends to base-jump of this 'stable' base as well!

Crazy rock columns being climbed in the middle of the dessert in Chad! Sometimes without guidelines ...

Bombing 20 meter waterfalls in Mexico, in kayaks! Lot's of blood.

Coastal crew going downhill, fast, very fast! Great jumps, great bikes, big hearts!

Extremists: Your Strength Weakens You

This goes out to all those people who give everything, all the time, to anything they set their mind to. You know who you are, but if you don't, your thinking goes something along these lines: "While I'm at it, I may as well be the best at it. Why not do something others probably don't have the endurance (or brilliance) to do. Life is too short for anything less than 100%. You haven't done/seen/heard that, why not? (utter disbelief)"

Extremists live life as if the present is the most precious gift and cradle it like a new-born. When the present becomes the past they have no regrets, they then start thinking of ways to manipulate the future so that when it arrives it can be spent like no other day before it; uniquely and unforgettably. Extremists tend to plan, but if something better comes along they change their plans. There is nothing more extreme than spontaneity, a willingness to change the way you see the next few minutes, hours or days!

This all sounds like a fairy tale, like a person you read about in a book or watch in a movie. You may be able to relate to certain aspects of the above description, but have never really seen it fully lived out. The reason for this is simple: the very aspects that make so-called extremists so endearing and successful, are the very things that trip them up in the end.

Extremists have a tendency to alienate people that can't keep up with them. They tend to be seen as selfish, reckless and driven. They would argue that they are just being misunderstood, but what is often the case is that, that which drives them to the edge, drives them over the edge.

What is the solution then? Jesus was extreme, He was a revolutionary, He alienated, polarized and mobilized. So, what was the difference? The bible says that Jesus only did what He saw His Father do and said what He heard His Father say. It stands to reason then that what we think is extreme is in fact an everyday reality for God. When we think we're living on the edge and seizing the day we are actually just beginning to tap into the potential He has given us.

Jesus was a lot of things, but one thing He was not, was selfish. Consider others just as Jesus considered you when He went to the cross. It will put your extreme tendencies into perspective, it will focus your passions onto others, onto a world that is crying out for help - an extreme cry!