Nothing Lasts Forever
How I hold onto hope by waiting for the end
I recently made the time to watch Society of the Snow on Netflix, an Oscar-nominated film based on a group of Uruguayan survivors who crashed in Los Andes, Argentina. This accident was so excruciating and so devastating it is known as “The Tragedy of Los Andes.” The movie perfectly portrays the gruesome, emotional, and mind-testing 72 days that 16 people had to endure in temperatures of around 30 degrees below zero after their plane collided with the snow-covered mountains.
When 2 of the survivors faced the incommensurable walking distance needed to cross to (hopefully) find help, one of the guys couldn’t help but ensure they were as good as dead, not even believing for a single moment that there was a way for them to cross the valley. After all, they had been walking for hours.
His friend, however, was adamant:
“I’m not going back.”
And it was this moment that struck me.
“The Andes can’t go on forever. The snow has to end at some point […] We just have to cross the valley”.
I don’t want to give too many details away (even though all this happened a little over 50 years ago, and it’s very much a true story). But if you ever doubted that when there’s a will, there’s an opportunity, in this case, to survive the most insane conditions a human can encounter, then this movie is a must-watch.
While watching this interaction unfold between the two friends, I tried to picture myself in that position, and all the times I have said to myself in a difficult situation: “This won’t last forever; it will end at some point; it has to.”.
And it does.
When I think about the times I competed in races as a beginner runner, this particular thought would frequently pop up during the most demanding moments of the course:
“You got this far already. Now you only have x distance to cover, and then it will be over.”
It must start with action.
I can’t lie and say everything comes and goes at my own free will.
How can I know there’s an end to something if I don’t take the first step forward?
When I learn how high the mountain is, I will know how long I’ll have to climb to get to the top.
When I know the distance I have to run, I will prepare to tell my body: “Don’t give up!”
When I see the valley go on and on, but behind me, there is just death and hopelessness, I know not to go back and to continue moving forward.
And when I don’t see any possible end to hard times, I will endure.
Action has always beaten inaction, and if there is something I’ve learned over heavy trials, it is that when you decide to act, no situation will last forever, and you have the power to end it.
