After many fits and starts, the day arrived.  Split between apprehension and enthusiasm, the hot concrete under my feet quickened my steps towards the towering ladder.  Grabbing the hand rail, also more than warm to the touch, I placed my foot on the first step.   Hmmmm, not too bad, I thought.  Second step.  Well, if I’m gonna get off, now’s the time, my resistance voice cautioned.  A line was forming behind me.  Someone noticed my brief hesitation and shouted some words of encouragement.  “Hurry up, dude.  Christmas is coming!”

No one understood the agony, the self-doubt, the risk of this new experience I was about to attempt.  No one except those who have attempted and succeeded or failed at the very same agonizing feat.  Holy crap, I mean it’s not exactly climbing Mt. Everest.  But for some of us, this bold feat requires just as much shutzpuh, courage and brass ones as that most noble of climbs.

At the middle of the ladder, I paused and looked up from the downward fixation I had on my feet making sure they would be firmly planted on the next step.  Wow.  Pretty nice view from this vantage point.  Bet it’s even better from the top.  My steps upward quickened.

Still grasping the handrail at the top but preparing to let go, I again soaked in the view.  People were smaller.  The collision of surface noise was noticeably subdued, faded.  Standing there I felt almost liberated, freed from anxiety over the first step because it was done.  Past.  Fini.  Don’t get me wrong, I still had the freakin’ swarm of butterflies in my stomach as I inched out toward the edge of the board.  This time, though, the warmth of the slip-resistant surface under my feet was almost reassuring.  I took my time.

I half-stepped jumped to test the responsiveness.  Hmmm, not too bad.  A gave a little firmer, harder jump.  The board gave an equally firm reply with room to spare.  I inched closer to the edge.  The slight breeze felt refreshing.  Do I dare look down?  I have to see where I’m going so, yes, absolutely.  Can’t hit a target you can’t see.  Though I wasn’t aiming for a physical bulls eye, I still created and imagined one in my own mind.

Positioning myself at the very edge, I began silently reciting words of encouragement and affirmations.  I focused on my breathing.  Big inhale, exhale.  Big inhale, exhale.  One step up.  And bounce.  A higher step and a resulting bigger bounce.  Arms out.  One final, total all out step as high and hard as I could muster. The board  responded, catapulting me higher than I ever imagined.  I stretched, reached, and put my arms and hands together, clasped like an arrow, accelerating toward my target.

The results of the dive remain to be seen, but I made the leap.

Action is the foundational key to all success ~ Pablo Picasso