Friday was truly an exercise in mindfulness. Zipping thru the trees hanging from a wire high in the Blue Ridge Mountains definitely took me out of my comfort zone and focused entirely on the here and now.
Why, you may be asking yourself, would Karen even consider a mile and a half zip line course? You must have guessed that I did not do this alone. No, I didn’t do it with Timothy, my 23 year old son. My father was the catalyst for this adventure. The zip line was on his “bucket list” so we celebrated his 79th birthday zipping through the air at Hawk’s Nest just out of Boone.
There I was on the first take off point. Believe me, zipping thru the air, adjusting my grip to keep myself from turning around backwards where I would not be able to see the tree top landing pad and know when to brake, kept me fully in the moment better than any Buddhist mindfulness training could ever hope to do. However, as soon as my feet landed on the platform high in the trees, my mindful, meditative focus disappeared as I worriedly awaited my Dad’s arrival.
Each line of the course presented a new challenge, a new leap of faith and a new opportunity to be fully present to the trees, the hum of the wire, and the air whooshing by. But as is so often the case in any spiritual journey, as soon as I was safe, my focus shifted and I began to worry once again.
Once we made it to the halfway point on our journey thru the trees, I was beginning to feel more confident and comfortable with the adventure and……then….. it began to rain, just a light drizzle at first and then a pouring rain. I heard one of our guides comment that the lines weren’t too slick YET!
The next line was short and the fastest zip and now it was also slick. As I took off braking the whole way with my leather clad glove as instructed, I felt the heat from the friction thru my glove, but didn’t seem to be slowing down. It was kind of like being in labor, once you’ve started there is no backing out. Now came my lesson in trust. I had taken my leap of faith, done all I could, so now I had to trust that the guide at the end of line would break my descent before I hit the tree. Quicker than I could blink he used a leather strap to stop me just in the knick of time, right before I was intimately and rudely introduced to the tree. Needless to say, I was ready to call it quits, but the only way off of the stand high in the trees was the next zip line.
I felt just a little bit like Peter when he stepped out of the boat and headed across the water to Jesus only to realize that he really didn’t know how to walk on water. I still had 4 lines to go and my courage was sinking. Then here comes my 79 year old Dad, my faith is bolstered and on we go.
I make my final leap of faith, soar through the air to the final landing pad, raining pouring down, glasses so wet I can hardly see. I make it! Touch Down!! I did it! My elation lasted about 10 seconds then the guide pointed to a wooden slatted swinging bridge 100 feet in the air, no hand rails or sides, just the cable overhead to steady you as you make your way across. So once again, I step out, one foot in front of the other, hanging on for dear life, I slowly make it across the bridge to safety….no, to another bridge, one more test. As I finally step onto solid, but very soggy wet ground, I look back and there is my Dad, following in my footsteps. Dripping wet, safe on the ground, proud of ourselves we head to the van, out of the rain with a bucket full of memories.
Just like Peter, I sometimes need to step out of my comfort zone and take a leap of faith. Just like Peter, I may at times feel like I am sinking, but someone will reach out and help me. And…just like Peter, I may have gotten soaking wet, but what lessons I learned and what memories I have to cherish.
So, thank you Daddy for a great 79th birthday celebration. I wouldn’t have done this without you and I am so glad to have both the memories and lessons from our zipping through the rain.!!
