The Funnies With a Bit of Truth

I love to read the comics on Sunday (and every other day as well).  I don't usually read them all but I do have a few favorites that I am faithful to.  One of them is "Dilbert".  Maybe it is because I left the corporate world (took a risk) and can now laugh at the things that used to stress me out when I was in the middle of them.  It is amazing how close to reality the comic is. But I suppose it is because real people write to Scott Adams with their real work problems and "can you believe he or she did this?" stories that make it so great.  It is good to be able to laugh at the craziness around us. 

Along with "Peanuts" and "Garfield" I occasionally catch "Funky Winkerbean".  Today it is the story of a student at a book signing.  The author asks if she is a student and she replies "yes, I want to teach music, but I'm not sure that I have what it takes to be a band director".  The author tells her you never know until you try and to err on the side of confidence.  She asks "what if I fail?".  He replies that "it is a possibility but just make sure that it's a failure of risk rather than a failure of timidity".  Not doing is as much of a risk as doing.

I recently wrote about my adventures in trapeze flying.  It is not surprising that the same feelings that arise when you are about to take a physical risk are similar to the feelings that arise when we take a personal risk.  We may be about to change our career or tell someone what we really think or make a change to something that has worked for years.  Those same feelings of anxiety, tightness in the chest, fast heartbeat and shaking can happen with any of those choices.  Not doing can also produce those feelings.  My girlfriend stood at the top of the platform several times. She hesitated every time the trapeze flyers said "hep" - for jump!  Finally, near the end of our flying time, she jumped and loved every minute of it.  She was upset with herself for hesitating all of the previous times. 

Don't regret the things you didn't say or didn't try. Take a chance and enjoy the flight!

Just Jump!

I experienced this years ago at a Jamaican resort. The nightly entertainment at the hotel included a group of circus performers who swung through the air with the greatest of ease!  During the day you could try the trapeze with them as your guides. I remember climbing up the narrow ladder to the platform to try my hand at swinging through the air.  It was scary and fun at the same time.  It didn't hurt that the performers, my teachers, were very good looking men.  I remember flipping and getting caught by the other performer and landing safely in the net after my adventure.  Squeals and screams attracted other vacationers to see what the commotion was all about.  I was great for business!

I was ready to do it again.  I convinced a friend recently that this would be a great thing to try.  I discovered a facility a few hours away in Austin. I offered the adventure to my yoga students but none of them seemed interested in trying to kill themselves - as they described it.  So, my girl friend, (the only one crazy - or brave enough to join me?) and I headed West to "join the circus".  

We arrived at the trapeze school, signed our life away and proceeded to gear up - getting wrapped and clipped and cinched to uncomfortable levels.  Then it was time to climb.  This time, the trapeze seemed so much higher.  The climb up the tiny ladder to the platform 30 feet in the air seemed so much scarier.  Once at the top I was clipped to safety by the assistant as she unclipped me from one cable for safely climbing the ladder to the other cable for safety on the platform. "Hold on to that pole" she said "so that I can get you clipped". I hugged the pole like my life depended on it - and it did.  Finally, I was ready to go. She asked me to step the the edge of the platform and put all ten toes over the edge.  My body wouldn't move forward, but knowing that others waited below me for their turn finally propelled me to the edge of the platform.  I was clipped and strapped and there was a net and there wasn't any reason to fear for my life - but I did.  I reached out and grabbed the trapeze and she held me while I leaned forward like Rose Dewitt in the Titanic movie at the front of the ship.  I waited for the cue - "Hep" - to jump.  And I did, screaming all the way - and it was incredibly awesome. 

Even though we prepare to take a risk and do all the research, and even when we've done it before - it can still be a little scary to jump.  Trust in yourself.  It will be so much more fun than you ever imagined.