crossing the chasm

I got a YouTube video sent to me yesterday, of a young woman walking on a tightrope across a very difficult chasm. My first thought was amazement that she could be 3,000 above the Yosemite Valley bottom, with nothing beneath her, and she didn't seem afraid. My second thought was wondering if she'd make it on the first try. My third thought was why would she want to do it in the first place, and my third thought was acknowledging all of those friends and supporters who were with her.

So she starts out, attached with a safety line to the tightrope. She falls, grabs the line, then starts again. She learns a little something, adjusts, then goes a little further till she loses her balance and has to hug the line, then start again. She adjusts again, goes further, and further, until this time, she's just a few feet from her goal. You can feel her get excited and start to concentrate on the end rather than the present moment, of where her feet are right now, and she falls, just feet short of her goal. NOW you can hear her boyfriend (or friend) talking encouragingly to her the whole time - "You're doing great, you're doing fine, just keep going, go slow, you OWN this, be patient - this is yours" - on and on the whole time, keeping her focused and present. She makes it.

I think what inspired me so much about the whole video is how closely it parallels how most of us are feeling at this present time. We are crossing over into something new, and crossing OVER seemingly empty space, 3,000 above the ground. It feels dangerous, precarious, scary, and we think we may not make it. But then we realize we have a safety line, we're trained professionals (we've done this before), and even if we fall, we get to keep trying until we make it. Most of all, we've got that gentle, encouraging voice always playing in our heads to keep us on task - "pay attention, go slowly, you can do it, keep going, you OWN this." We know we're not alone - we know we have to do this, and that we WILL be successful. It's scary as h**l but we're here, and we're doing this thing, no turning back, and we won't stop until we've done it.

When Libby finally makes it across, she lays back on the rock and just laughs. What does it mean? What was it all for? Well, she wanted to do it, she knew she could it, and she didn't give up until she'd made it. Just like all of us. Here's the link to the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA3A5RQB1Lk

We head down to the Cities for Kari's graduation and dental appointments (yay!), so probably won't be posting until Tuesday evening. Have a great weekend and remember: YOU OWN THIS.