Have you ever stood on the edge of something - a platform, a cliff, a bridge - to bungee jump or zip line down or jump/dive into water? How does that feel, standing on the edge deciding to just jump? A little scary? Scared that maybe the harnesses won't catch or hold you - afraid you'll crash to the ground - afraid that you'll get hurt somehow? And yet, with all those physical threats, you still choose to just jump anyway because your faith in the process is much greater than your fear of injury or death. You decide that many people have done it before you and they all came out ok, right? And you do it - you jump! And it's amazing and exciting and more fun than you imagined and you can't wait to do it again! Wow!
I was thinking about this as my 7 year old zip lined for the first time this weekend. I thought about how easy it is for us to take physical risks even at an early age because we trust that it's safe regardless of how scary it looks. Then I thought about the scary things we face throughout our lives - not the physical things - but the emotional, the day-to-day, the risks to rise above or advance, the ambitious moves we need to make. Sometimes we stay planted in a safe place because we are too afraid to go for something. The "what-if's" can consume us. We don't trust the process or that someone around is going to keep us safe - or that even we ourselves have what it takes to accomplish the unusual or ambitious idea. Why is it so much easier to risk our physical lives by jumping off of cliffs and platforms than it is for us to risk embarrassment or failure or possibly even success in daily lives? It all comes from the same place - it's all a decision. Either way probably the most thrilling choice is to JUST JUMP.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
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