Between a Rock and a Hard Place

“We are not grand because we are at the top of the food chain or because we can alter our environment—the environment will outlast us with its unfathomable forces and unyielding powers. But rather than be bound and defeated by our insignificance, we are bold because we exercise our will anyway, despite the ephemeral and delicate presence we have in this desert, on this planet, in this universe.”

Here, Aron Ralston meditates on the relationship between humankind and nature. Awed by nature’s majesty, he feels insignificant, yet he finds significance in the human exercise of will, in choosing and acting for oneself. These comments foreshadow the struggle of will that Ralston undergoes while trapped.

“There’s a mostly unspoken acknowledgement among the voluntarily impoverished dues-payers of our towns that it’s better to be fiscally poor yet rich in experience—living the dream—than to be traditionally wealthy but live separate from one’s passions.”

This passage sheds light on Ralston’s preferences and priorities. Although some of his colleagues no doubt consider him foolish for doing so, Ralston leaves his job at Intel for a much lower-paying job in sales, which gives him far more time to explore his true passions in life. In addition, this passage exemplifies Ralston’s detailed and articulate writing style.

“What kind of luck do I have that this boulder, wedged here for untold ages, freed itself at the split second that my hands were in the way? Despite obvious evidence to the contrary, it seems astronomically infeasible that this happened.”

For a time after his accident, Ralston indulges in self-pity and fatalistic thinking. Here, for instance, he turns to the concept of luck, which has little explanatory power but feeds his misery. However, he soon finds that such avenues of thinking have little productive use and turns his attention to action, though he continues to vacillate between the two.