Rock climbing as therapy
(WorldNews Environment)

It´s twilight in Pisgah Forest, and I´m on the `nose` of Looking Glass Rock, climbing with friends as the sun softens into a relaxed, lemon-cream kind of light. I´m in the middle of a multipitch; my lead climber is above me, clipped into the anchor bolts in the granite. He´s belaying (taking up slack in the rope) as I puzzle my way up the rock face. It´s methodical and meditative, a sort of mindless yet mindful state. The more focus I have, the more my mind surrenders and the more my feet think. Only the friction of my rubber-soled climbing shoes glues me to the `eyebrows` (eroded pockets) that litter the route, my palms flat on the rock face only for balance. I´m working in a silence...