Vision: Fearlessness

Dearest Readers,

Today is the very last day of 2009. Hard to believe we've just come to the end of the first decade of the 2000s, isn't it? Ten whole years since the big Y2K scare. Blink and a decade has gone by.

This is a time to reflect not only on the year gone by but perhaps on the last ten years as well. What are my accomplishments? My wins and victories? What have I changed? What haven't I changed? Where would I like to change?

As I look to the New Year, I envision a continuation of my journey on the healing path, cultivating the courage to do the things I think I cannot do, walking through my fear, and inspiring others to do the same.

My deepest vision is to live entirely without fear. To be completely fearless. Sounds like a plan, no?

The other day I was in a store that sells outdoor gear and like almost everywhere you go now there was a television on display. The film that was playing showed images of a skier bombing down the steepest mountain side you can possibly imagine, flying off cliffs hundreds of feet high and landing in deep powder, continuing on to the next edge of nothingness, jumping off without hesitation etc.

Another clip showed a man running up to the edge of a mountain and hurling himself off it, flipping into the air and falling at breakneck speed, parallel to a sheer rock face until, very near to the ground, he pulled a chute and floated the rest of the way down.

My heart was in my throat.

Now, who knows what kinds of lives these guys have outside of their extreme sporting habits but to be that fearless in those situations, to see the edge of the cliff with nothing beyond it but certain death and to throw oneself off of it without a second thought, well, I'm impressed by that. Whether it's stupid or not, I don't know. I just know I'm in awe of that level of fearlessness. Because I'd be terrified.

I can't see myself throwing myself off a cliff anytime soon (though I've always dreamt of free-falling from an airplane -- I have jumped out of a plane but the chute released automatically upon jumping -- that's another story) but I plan to use those images of cliff-jumpers to inspire fearlessness in everyday situations.

Can I commit to throwing myself off the cliff of life each day? Am I willing to jump into the unknown with complete abandon? Can I practice letting go absolutely in any given situation?

Yes, yes, and yes.

Inspiring Message of the Day: I will look back on the past year and the past decade and look at what I have accomplished and what I would like to accomplish in the days to come. I will create a vision for my life and work toward it to the best of my ability, one day at a time.