The Northern Limit

A recent trip to Quebec reminded me of limits. No i didn't walk off of the northern end of the world as this sign had warned, apparently the 'flat-earthers' have a powerful movement in ol' Canada.
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No, it was keeping my car parked at the hotel and walking around the concrete and asphalt streets for a few days. It was great seeing all there was to see and moving throughout the different time periods of architecture... until my mortal limits were once again pointed out to me.
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i have bad knees, you see, and walking up and down unforgivingly hard and inclined old streets for a few days in a row completely did them in. Up to that point i just kept thinking about how i had played soccer on two teams for much of the past year and had been active with things like kayaking this summer so my cardio was in pretty good shape. A mear oversight.
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i had planned on hitting up a Canadian skatepark my last day there and then coming home and doing a hike the day after i got back. Oh how plans can change. It takes a lot to get me to turn down an indoor skatepark but their was no way my legs were going to be able to keep me upright above them as i dropped into the various ramps... curse my aging body.
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i harbored delusions right up to my final hours in the great white north that somehow my knees were going to miraculously heal up as i drove to the border and that i would be on to hike the highest mountain in the northeastern US that next day. Gas/snack stops quickly made me realize that difficulty getting to the wall-lining coolers for a sugary beverage meant that getting to an elevation of just over 6,000 ft by foot the next day was not even a possibility. Having to bail on the hike hurt even more than my knees.
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Getting pimp-slapped by my limits made me think of too things (besides my aching knees). The first being an optimistic college dream i had. i think the seed was planted after doing my now favorite hike route, the ridge trail, with a good friend. From then on, through the next couple of years of college, i decided that i wanted to hike the full Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine after graduating.
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i grew up hiking in New England so i was familiar with the terrain of the toughest part of the few-month adventure. Like hiking: check. Like camping: check. Like being alone: check. i was young, idealistic, and full of energy... until senior year. After struggling with bad health for that year and dropping below 100 lbs before finally being diagnosed, i lost my delusions of invincibility. i realized that my knees would never make it. i realized that going that long without getting sidelined by allergies for a couple of days at some point was not a possibility. My stubbornness would take me far but at some point my body would catch up with me.
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That's not to say i fully learned my lesson, as can be seen with my Quebec outing, but i am much more mindful of my humble limitations and do try to keep myself out of overly-unnecessary risks. Well, most of the time at least. When not skateboarding or riding a Vespa that is.
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The second thing that came to mind with all these self-limit reminders was the credit/loan problem currently cresting over in this country. In my adult life i have been fully aware of all the physical warning signs my body sends me and make decisions as best i can. My knees were out of commission so i had to drop out of my planned skateboarding and hiking activities. i had pushed the limits of my body but stopped before it went to a dangerous place, like taking a face plant on a ramp or having my knee collapsing under me as i was halfway up a mountain.
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The high-risk loans and over-extending of credit were not without their own set of warning lights. Warning lights so bright that i have had to shield my eyes at times from other people's blinding strobes. Limit signs were all over the elevator but they kept packing it in. Now comes the face-plant.
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The distaste for limits does not leave us when we grow out of our teenage years. Pushing limits is an important part of life and an important part of character. We test those limits and learn from those limits. There is ,however, no excuse for adults throwing themselves so far beyond their clearly known limits that they get themselves into the kinds of situations we are seeing with these utterly foolish lines of credit.
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Pushing limits and making careless decisions are two completely different things all together. Mainstream America in general seems to be unwilling to do any of the former (on a personal level) and are all too frequently doing the latter.