The Mainstream's current is strong-

[Richard J. Hobin Jr.]

Any society's mainstream culture has a strong current and it is difficult to stand on shore and watch that wave instead of swimming in it. Our consumer culture has the same pull. You get into the stream maybe just up to your ankles. You do this just to test the waters and the next thing you know you're neck deep in it. Your opinions and facts are now that of the stream. You're thoughts are flowing with the mainstream and soon you are a part of the mainstream. It can happen at a maliscious sub-conscious level to be sure. In Roman times, it was the culture of conquest. The economy of Rome was to conquer nations or barbarians, take their stuff, enslave their people and be admired by the Roman state when the job was finished. In our culture, the American consumer culture, it's pretty similar except we lie, cheat, and steal our way to win that admiration. Just look at what people have done with the Markets, housing and banks. The openly lied, cheated, and stole from other people because the that stream they're in. Buy more, sell more and be more no matter what the costs. At least the Romans had no pretense of goodness from their actions. Unfortunately, great things don't always come from the stream. Creative greatness comes from within. From the force that is within all of us to be more than we are and ignore what the stream or wave tells us to be. It's a battle and when one doesn't have beautiful minded people, places or things to help pull one out of the tidal pools or mediocrity, it's a losing battle. The mainstream tells us to in a voice of resignation to “Settle for realistic goals. Lower your expectations. Be practical. Why don't you do as everyone else does?...Don't go beyond the limits. Uncharted territories are dangerous. You have no experience just dreams. Do you think you are special? You can't make it. You are just an idealist.” (Daniele Bolelli-ON THE WARRIOR'S PATH) Do you hear this bullshit a lot? If you don't, you are strong and have great will-force. If you do, find the strength within in yourself to resist and fight it. Most mainstreamers don't even notice it. A great example of someone who fought the mainstream and won was the man who introduced modern bouldering to the masses in spite of the climbing community's judgment upon him. His name is John Gill. >

John Gill is a living legend in the climbing community. Now in his 70's he became famous for pioneering routes no greater than two stories tall. Bouldering (a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs so that a fall will not result in injury) was only used for a training tool by climbers before 1950's. Jon Gill made it an endeavor of artistry and personal fulfillment. It is no joke to say that most people can reach the summit of Mt. Everest easier than bouldering a Gill route. He had trouble with the mainstream climbing community, who thought at the time that gaining peaks and new routes should be a climber's goal. As Mr. Gill says in his own words, “I recognized that mainstream philosophy is a very binding forces that can keep you locked into a certain perspective, and I didn't like that. Most of all, I like the freedom of climbing.” He goes on to say, “When I first recognized the tremendous forces of a mainstream perspective, the tremendous force that a climbing community can exert upon your climbing experience, I realized that I wanted to experiment with climbing, that I wasn't interested in making my climbing fall into a category, walking in someone else's footsteps, or obeying a set of informal rules, even if they were unwritten rules. I simply found it to be very, very difficult to experiment while climbing with other people, or even while staying at a climber's campground.” Gill questioned his climbing pursuits saying, “Do they draw one back to the climbing community? Or do they lead along the {inner-directed} path? This questioning generates a tension that is heightened by disillusionment. Ultimately, on reaches an emptiness, and this where our basic spontaneous nature leads to the beginning of the path...Thereafter one can continually stand apart from the outer world of climbing, yet at times be fiercely involved in it. Philosophical and mystical dimensions emerge when the two worlds are brought together.” Bouldering has become the most popular form or climbing amongst young climbers. Now there are bouldering competitions all over the world. All from a man who found his own path of climbing instead of wading in the waters with the other climbers of his day. You can follow Gill's ideal and make your own paths of inner and outer creativity. The stream will get along just fine without you.