Leap of Faith

We’ve all probably heard the saying “take a leap of faith” but have you ever really pondered what that actually means, and what it might feel like.  I received a lesson in this concept this past fall and it was liberating.  I didn’t know I would learn so much from a simple activity.

In November, my daughter and I went to a local rock-climbing event.  This was only the second time ever that I participated in this sport.  I was so excited to try something that would challenge me. The first time I ever rock climbed, we were harnessed in and the person at the bottom held the rope as we belayed down.  For those of you who are not familiar with what that is, it’s simply leaning back off the wall and using your feet to push yourself off the wall periodically so you can reach the bottom.  Typically, it’s what you would see on TV if you see someone coming down from a rock climb.  This first experience took a bit of gumption to release your hands from the wall and let yourself come down.  It was a more fluid and slower process.

Now, it had been several years since the last time I had rock climbed, so I was excited to try it again.  The facility we were in has a fairly tall wall.  It was so exciting to see how far I could make it up the wall.  I was determined to reach the top.  However, before I made it to the top, I had to trust that I would make it to the bottom safely.  On my first attempt, I didn’t make it quite to the top.  The idea that you have to come down seems forefront in your mind.  It’s the unknown of what that will be like gnawing at your consciousness.  Since I couldn’t make it any further at this point, I had no choice but to come down.  With a self-belaying system, there is no one at the bottom manning your rope so you don’t push off the wall periodically as you descend.  Instead, you just let go and the rope will bring you down to the ground.  Sounds easy right?  Not so much. So here I was hanging to the side of the wall and was being told to just let go.  I was never in doubt of my equipment, but just the shear thought of letting go and trusting that you will not crash to the ground took a little more guts than I had expected.  I wasn’t terrified; just needed to convince myself that this would be no big deal. The encouragement of all the others down below helped boost my confidence. (I wasn’t the only one who needed this same encouragement.) Finally, I took the plunge and just let go.  What I didn’t realize entirely was that once you let go, the system lets you free fall for a brief moment before it tightens up and brings you down evenly.  The free fall moment is probably shorter than it feels, but it’s startling to say the least. Once I did it, there was this amazing rush of having accomplished something great and exciting.  I conquered my apprehension. 

 I had to fully trust that my harness and line would get me safely to the ground because if it didn’t, the alternative would not be so great.  The exhilaration of just going for it was incredible.  As I was descending, there was something freeing in the action; letting go of all the questions, doubts, angst and just doing it.  Pure joy was the result of pushing past all the stuff that weighed me down and made me question.  Laughter bubbled out of me instead of fear and doubt.

Since this experience, I have thought a lot about “taking a leap of faith.”  It is something I don’t think I ever really fully experienced before and will ever look at that the same way again.  It has made a difference in my life.  I feel empowered to try new things and believe that I am more capable of handling a challenging situation.  I know I have it in me to do what is hard and make the best of it—even thrive.  I realized that there are more people pulling for you than there would be people rooting against you. Even though my landings weren’t always graceful, I was still better for doing it. In life, the outcome of taking a chance might not always be perfect, but you are usually better off in some way for trying.  Sometimes we just have to trust that things will work out whether we know for sure or not.  It’s a scary thing putting trust in something that you can’t see or know for sure, but having to trust that the rope would get me safely to the ground taught me this valuable lesson. 

Once you feel the exhilaration of just letting it happen and leaping into the unknown, you will find out how free life can be.  Life is uncertain at the best of times, but if we don’t venture out into the unknown, we may never know what great things await us.  Until you have no other option and you truly just take that “leap of faith” you might not know what you are missing.  Don’t be afraid to try; you might even learn that you know how to soar.