photo credit: me.explorer |
We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal, and then leap in the dark to our success. ~ Henry David Thoreau
"JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! JUMP!"
I was 14 years old, and all my friends were daring me to do it. My mother had warned me about this day... "If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?!" I would roll my eyes at the absurdity of her suggestion. How dumb does she think I am? How dumb does she think my friends are? But lo and behold, there I was, knees shaking, heart pounding ... looking down at all my friends who had already taken the plunge... standing on the edge of Frye's Leap on Sebago Lake.
"C'mon Priscilla! JUMP!!!"
It's now or never. If I don't jump now, while I have all the moxie in the world... I'll never do it... and I will regret it the rest of my life. Not only that... but there really isn't another way down. I backed up a few feet, started to run... and at the last minute changed my mind. The problem is, in real life, jumping off a cliff doesn't lend you any last minutes to change your mind. This is not a cartoon where you get to hang in mid air and scramble back to the edge and contemplate your decisions. Nope.... I was hurdling off the cliff - screaming - flailing - waving my arms and legs frantically (despite being instructed by my friends to go jump straight with my feet so I would "knife" into the water).... and before I could cry "Geronimo!" ... I smacked the water with the force of a bug hitting a windshield.... water gushed into my open mouth (because I was still screaming) and soon I couldn't tell up from down. Holy shit - this is what my mother was trying to warn me about - my friends are morons. Sinking to the bottom of the lake, and still flailing my arms and legs hoping to move in any direction but down, suddenly I felt the grip of my friends hands on my shoulders and he launched me to the surface. Gasping and realizing I was seeing the light of day, and I was not dead... I looked up at the cliff and thought (briefly) - "Wow, that isn't really that high...what was I so afraid of?" Would I do it again? Oh hell NO.
But I'm glad I did it - even if it wasn't by complete preconceived notion. It taught me two things - 1) if I should happen to jump off anything... my friends are always there to catch me. and 2) I have the moxie to make the leap.
Sometimes we get shoved off cliffs.... much like when my marriage abruptly ended and I had to move out on my own for the first time in my life, much like when I was let go from my job due to corporate downsizing, and much like the time I started my coaching business. I was shoved out of the nest - it was fly or die. Luckily, I was able to spread my wings each time, and I had friends to catch me during bumpy landings.
As I eluded to in my previous post, I am gearing up to launch some amazing things in my life and my business. I have been slowly climbing, building, and creating. And, now, here I stand once again on the side of the cliff - all my friends, family, colleagues, and clients are yelling "JUMP JUMP JUMP!!" and I am gathering up all the moxie I got... GERONIMO!
Paradise is Here, Paradise is Now... Paradise is Taking That Leap ....
I'd love to hear about your leaps of faith... please feel free to share your Paradise!
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