BS”D
Last week I jumped off a cliff.
I wanted to test myself. Test my limits.
I wanted to see if I am truly making a change in myself, or if it’s all just “talk”.
So I decided to go paragliding from 3,000 feet.
It has been one of my “bucket list” items for years, but dreams and reality are two very different things. And this was definitely a “dream”. Far, far-fetched.
If you know anything about me, you’ll know that I used to be one of the most anxious, scared and timid people walking the planet.
I used to be afraid of EVERYTHING!
I was the kid sitting on the bleachers in the school’s soccer games cause I was afraid of the ball.
The mom who went rushing to the doctor every time my kid sneezed.
The lady who took the back roads because I refused to drive on a highway where people merge at 70 mph.
So I decided it was time to see if I am really a changed woman. If I can look FEAR in the face and laugh!
I picked up the phone, called a paragliding company and booked tickets for my husband and I.
We woke up early in the morning, and started our long drive up the mountain.
With each mile the air was getting thinner, and my nerves began to do their usual “thing”.
My mouth became dry.
My palms were sweaty and cold.
My breathing became shallow.
I fought the feeling. I was going to do this. No matter WHAT.
Finally, we reached the summit, and all I could see below was clouds.
We were above the clouds.
And I was about to jump off a cliff….
Hey, if someone told you to jump off a cliff would you do it?
Um… I guess sometimes the answer is YES!
My harness went on. The instructor explained that I’d have to run the fastest I’d ever run, for about 8 seconds and then just jump. If I failed to jump or didn’t run fast enough, it could be bad… very bad… Let’s just say, I had no time to panic, frantically scream, or make mistakes.
“Gulp” was all I could manage.
(“Just think you’re a bird, Yaara” – I tried to convince myself…….)
And then, before I knew it, it was time.
“Ready? RUN YAARA! RUN!!!”
I shut my mind off, and I ran the fastest I could. I didn’t think. I reached the end of the cliff, closed my eyes, and just jumped!
And just like that – I was flying! I was gliding in an ocean of fluffy white clouds.
I was not nervous. I was nothing! I was just floating on air.
It wasn’t scary. It was ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING THINGS I’VE EVER DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I did it! I actually really DID IT!!!
I looked down at the world below me and finally understood what they mean when they say “life begins where fear ends”.
I don’t have many words to describe it. But it was one of the most beautiful and awe filled experiences of my life. To feel so free that you’re flying like a bird for 12 minutes. Feet dangling in the air, seeing the world from that high, flying above the tiny trees, touching the clouds…. Tears filled my eyes.
So it’s true.
This is what it’s like to live on the edge. A whole new level of life that I never even knew existed.
When I stand at the edge of a cliff and am so scared to take that step – but I take it, I get to fly like a bird and touch the clouds?
I get to trust myself that I am capable of more than I ever imagined?
I get to push past my own self-imposed limitations and discover a whole new level of power inside of me?
SIGN ME UP!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, and to answer my question, am I truly changed?
Yes. I am.
Am I not afraid anymore?
No. I AM very much still afraid.
But what’s different is that I am learning to face fear and jump despite it. I am learning what true courage is. Because life’s too short to play small, and the next level is right over the edge. Just waiting.
So what are we waiting for?
