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For the Love of It: Moving Meditation

Portland Magazine

Nursing

Recreational Services

February 22, 2019

Cassidy Smith climbing a rock wall

The “love”: Rock climbing.

The lover: Cassidy Smith, nursing major, Class of 2020.

Where her vertical inclinations began: Beauchamp Recreation and Wellness Center, where she now works at the climbing wall.

When first impressions are wrong: “I kind of hated sports. I was so bad at them. I thought I was unathletic.”

Zen and the art of…: “It’s my meditation. You can’t think about anything else. You have to have direct intentional focus.”

Time warp: “I could be on a rock for 45 minutes, and it feels like 10.”

More than the destination: “Everything is about being outside. It’s about the people and the hike to get to the route. It’s physical and it’s also about the beautiful sites and about appreciating cool public lands. It’s a lifestyle.”

Reality check: “People die climbing. My boyfriend recently broke his back.”

On risks: “Most of them can be managed. You can’t let that hold you back. You can push yourself while still facing reality.”

Giveaway: “I can pick out climbers because their forearms and finger tendons look jacked. That’s funny to me.”

Nursing parallels: “You have to have good teachers and good communication and operate well under stress. There are high-risk consequences. You have to act accordingly and safely for yourself and for others at the other end of the rope. You have to keep moving forward, let mistakes go, or accept them and keep going. You have to come to work the next day.”

Plans: After working in nursing for three years to honor her Providence Scholarship, Cassidy wants to live in a van and climb for a year.

First stops: Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Indian Creek.

Photo by NashCO