Heights and Horizons

08/12/2015

I know I climbed higher than I should have. I was young and over-confident. Perhaps I wasn’t aware of how fast I was growing during my adolescent years. I like to think the tree really tried to hold onto me. Its subtle cracks were warnings that something was awry; but I didn’t pay attention.

The final crack wasn’t subtle. It was deafening. And, it was the last thing I remember before waking up to confusion, pain, and fear on the icy ground on that cold February. I was never afraid of heights, until I felt their sting.

Obviously, the fall wasn’t fatal. But, my boyish superpowers were harmed. I came to know the weight of gravity and the fragility of a body.

Though my view of heights drastically changed that day, I’m still not scared of them. They exist like any other thing – spiders, snakes, death. They simply need more attention when you’re encountering them.

The same goes for your successes.

With each step you take in your craft, education, or vocation, you climb a proverbial ladder. The higher you go, the greater the distance you might fall; but, the heights also give you more of a view of what could be.

This is why keeping good friends and counselors is a must and why consistent reflection and introspection are vital. It’s much harder to fall to the ground if people watch your steps and catch you when you slip.

So, keep climbing, whatever that means to you. And, if you’re like me, you’ll get scared at times. Really scared. Pay attention to where you are and how you got there. Don’t forget how painful falling is.

But then…peer deeply into the breathtaking horizon ahead of you. Even though you may not know how to get there yet, let it keep your attention.  

Because, if you do fall, it’ll be all the worse if you never opened your eyes.

 

ps: Huge thanks to those of you who completed this short form. That was really helpful. Here’s to the next sixty weeks.

pps: If you’re free on the evening of August 27th, can you meet me here