jump

jump: to spring clear of the ground or other support by a sudden muscular effort.

synonyms: leap, spring, vault, bound

context: the dock at Erhman Mansion on the western shore of Lake Tahoe. (Google it)

why: because everyone was doing it...and it looked fun...and we're a bit crazy like that

deep thoughts: With most jumps that involve a ten to twelve foot leap into a deep blue, frigid, alpine lake there is some amount of fear that one must swallow......Fear of leaving the security of a stable home dock. Fear of experiencing a temporary loss of control as you loose all connection to the tangible world. Fear of feeling the weight and force of gravity, that lurch in your stomach, the impact of your body cutting the surface of that ice cold water. (And I mean, cold.)

Is not every leap this way?
Your mind quickly works through its grid of safety checks, balances fears on the scale of reality, attempts to compute the real dangers vs. the conceived ones.  Your body relays physical messages, red flags (the shakes, butterflies in your stomach, dizziness, the sweats, the barfs) to warn you of possible folly: the leap is larger than your body can withstand...you might experience a temporary loss of control...you have no way to predict the outcome. Stay on the dock.

Stay on the dock.

Yet somewhere in our mental calculating as we "stand on the dock" watching others leap, we discover that our minds hold quite the collection of partisan groups each fighting for a piece of mental ground. Fear and Safety are met with the rising voices of Thrill and Possibility and we begin to take note that to spring clear of the ground or other "support" will take sudden muscular, mental, and emotional effort. We note that their arguments are quite persuasive yet Thrill and Possibility seem to offer something that Fear and Safety do not: LIFE.

Like abundant life.

The kind of life that is full of moments when you feel quite out of your skin. You sense a rush of emotion, a spin in your stomach, a tiny scream escaping from your throat as you leap into the air, feel the force of gravity pull you towards something new. You cut the surface, plunge the depths and come up for air, the shock of the newness exhilarating and breathtaking all at once. The thrill was worth it. Your first jump completed, your mind and body sigh in relief, put away their warning flags, and even encourage you to jump again. And you do.

Welcome to Monday.
Go ahead...jump.

xoxo