Did Someone Say Jump!

When I sit down and think back on how ridiculously scary I can be, I tend to laugh out loud because I can see some of my foolishness replay vividly in my head. I think I just like to scream, who knows! I mean, my cousin and I were roommates for the first few years of my adult life and we made it a routine to terrify each other almost daily. We would scream our heads off and then laugh hysterically…is that normal? I’m not sure, but we still do it to this day when we are together sometimes which might be a bad idea since we are older. One of us just might tinkle on ourselves as soon as we hear the word “BOO”! This type of scary is entertaining, but let me tell you (in case you didn’t already know) there are different levels to scary and different types of fear.

A couple of years back, a group of friends and I boarded a plane to Costa Rica for a girls trip! SIDE NOTE: I talk about this trip in one of my first blogs, please check it out. OKAY, back to what I was saying…I decided that I was going to zipline for the first time ever in life. I’ll go on record and say I was terrified, but I was determined to make this jump after I asked a billion questions. Now look here, let me just say I am ample, so of course I asked the gentleman, “are you sure nothing is going to snap, can this cable handle all o’ this”, he chuckled and assured me, “it can, we got you”. After his comedic reassurance, I was strapped up, secured, and still terrified–even though I was equipped with all THE STUFF!!!! Did you catch that??? I was fully secured and equipped with everything I needed and still afraid to jump!

The man went on to explain, that “once you make the 3rd pass, you cannot get off, you have to finish the course!” What??? Man, look! I need to be in control of my exit! What if I wanna get off after the 4th pass!!!! Wait a minute! I guess my fears did not really matter because he said grab the bar, and hold on and off the ledge I went!!!!! He pushed me and I went soaring through the air! Obviously the cable held because that was a few years ago and I am sitting here still writing about it!!! I absolutely loved it!!! The experience was unmatched and left me in awe at nature and being able to see the view of the world below me. It positioned me to have a different perspective. You can’t always walk amongst the crowd, sometimes you have to soar above it to see exactly what’s going on around you! It’s that whole stop blending in and you were meant to stand out thing!

There in lies the lesson! The need to be in control of certain outcomes can derail you and second guessing yourself even though you know that you know that you know will leave you with the same vantage point you have always had. You can only see things differently when you position yourself differently. Experiences give clarity to vision. I almost cheated myself out of one of the most exhilerating experiences I have ever had because staying on the ground was more logical to me…didn’t really make sense to me to fly through the air on a cable (see how ridiculous that sounds)! But ohhh, what an experience! My fears almost stopped me from jumping…..excuse me I was pushed, so I will way my fears almost stopped me from allowing myself to be pushed! LOL! I can be honest in saying that, yes, I have stopped myself from jumping many times for different things and for reasons, and I have also bucked being pushed because pushing back meant I was still in control. My closest friends would be bald now if they didn’t have a high level of tolerance for my shenanigans.

I am still learning that it is okay to make the jump in what ever I do, no matter how big or small my first hop may be! It’s okay for you too because one thing I am certain of is that not only am I fully equipped to make the jump; I know WHO made sure I had all the right equipment. The question is never are you able to do it, it’s usually when are you going to do it; and “IT” refers to whatever “your thing” might be! Don’t just rest at the edge of the ledge, jump off of it! You have a built in parachute…just look up!

Song Reference (Blast From the Past): JUMP-THE POINTER SISTERS JUMP-Kris Kross

HERE’s My first HOP! A few nuggets for your noggin!!!! Life is for the learnin’! Available NOW on Amazon.com