Aron Ralston
“The most powerful force on earth is the will to love,” said Aron Ralston, a true hero.
I never thought it would strike me that much simply watching “Minute to Win It” like every other nights. It was more than a game show that night, with Aron Ralston’s appearance, who played the game to raise money for Wilderness Workshop.
How many of us have had to make terrible choices in the past?
“Gosh,” I screwed up my last three driving tests. Guess I will have to redo it.
“Gosh,” my girl just broke up with me. Guess I will find a new one.
“Gosh,” uttered Aron Ralston, a regular hiker, nature explorer, and adventurer, who had his arm stuck in between an 800-pound rock loose and the canyon wall.
Guess what, Ralston was stuck there – in the middle of complete wilderness – for five days, more than 127 hours.
On April 26, 2003, the mountaineer went on a day of adventure in the remote southeast Utah. According to him, he did not tell anyone where he’d gone. Little (I bet never) did he know that the trip have brought him to the most horrible choice he had to make in his life.
Personally, I have had some puzzling decisions to make in the past: whether or not to leave my home country and study abroad; whether or not to leave my family behind and pursue my dream; and whether or not to dine at the new “Star of India.”
I must confess that none of them – none of all the decisions I had made in my life – had even been close to the decision that Ralston had to make, after the 127 hours of losing himself in space and time.
Image footage from Aron's video cam while he was stuck.
The instinct of human survival kicked in when Ralston final knew that he will die if he kept waiting for rescue. After much enormous torture of the mind and to the body, Ralston decided to cut his arm off in order to escape from the rocks. And he did.
Not only that he figured a way to rip off his bones and cutting his arms with a blunt knife, he also rappelled off a 60-foot cliff, and then hiked seven miles, before ultimately he was noticed by a helicopter his mom sent to initiate a search operation. My heart sunk having to think about how much pain and suffering Ralston have had to experience.
Now, let’s take a look at ourselves and ask, “What’s so bad, after all?” There are so much things that we have not experienced in life. Who are we to rant about the so-very little discomfort amongst our luxurious life?
It was the feeling of love that gave force to Ralston to keep struggling for survival. He could have just stabbed himself with the blunt knife and bleed to death. He could have died without anyone’s acknowledgement, to end the pain and suffering he’s undergoing.
Yet, Ralston has chosen life. The love for his loved ones and the hope for his future family kept Ralston alive.
Think about students who chose to commit suicide every year all over the world. How bad exactly was your problem? Haven’t you had the choice? While many would have chosen a quick end, Ralston chose to keep battling on.
Aron speaks at several seminars.
This is what made Ralston a true hero. As a man of the family he did not want to disappoint his parents. He did not want his blood relatives to mourn for him. It was love for the family that has given Ralston his strength and determination. I cannot imagine what I would do if stuck in similar situation. No, I don’t even dare to imagine.
We have heard it enough: when life gives you lemon, make lemonade. This saying is just too simple. Don’t be silly, life is not just about lemon and lemonade. We have way too many decisions that we had to make and many of these decisions will not guarantee a happily-ever-after.
Just be grateful for the people around you – family, friends, teachers, and whosoever that crosses our path in everyday life. In the end, you may be surprised of how much these people can help us to generate the power to face every different, challenging tomorrow.
Aron Ralston poses for his book "Between A Rock and A Hard Place."
Seven years later, Ralston turned out to be a motivational speaker, challenging people of many corners of the world to live strong. Ralston also wrote a book entitled "Between A Rock and A Hard Place" based on his experience. His story was also made into a film, starred James Franco, which then was nominated for six Oscar Awards.
"127 Hours" was released last year.
I strongly encourage those who needs a bit of motivation to watch or read Ralston's story.
