I Remember Falling

This is a memory that goes back a few years, but it is something that affected me greatly. I don't think physically I am what you would call a "risk-taker". I'm not going to go skydiving or bungee jumping unless I'm on The Amazing Race. Although, I would love to drive an Indy Car around the Brickyard at 220 mph some day.

A few years ago, the department I worked in at EMI went on a "team building" retreat. It was a ropes course. Yes, it was physically demanding, but more than anything it was psychologically demanding. I guess that was the point. We started out in an open field, standing in a circle. We were blindfolded, and led off into the woods one by one. The instructors demanded silence. We were to put complete faith into them and each other. Finally after walking for quite some time, and I suspect we were led in circles, we were told to remove our blindfolds. I found myself deep in the woods. I wouldn't have known which way to go to even begin to find my way back to the field. I looked around at my coworkers and saw expressions of excitement, nervousness, even fear. Thus began our day...

The first trust building exercise required me to climb to a platform situated up in a tree. I'm not sure how high up it was, but at least 10 feet as it was above the heads of even the tallest man in my group. I stood on the very edge of the platform with my coworkers positioned on the ground in two lines. I was supposed to fall backward into their waiting arms below. No nets, no cushions, just the outstretched arms of 10 men and women to break my fall.

So, I fell. And it was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. There was this moment as my body left the platform and I was floating in the air. It felt like I wasn't even moving. At that moment, I didn't even think of the arms waiting for me below. I just saw the sky above and felt the complete freedom of not being restrained to the earth. I remember smiling the most genuine smile I have probably ever given in my life. It seemed to last forever, but logically I know it couldn't have been more than a few seconds.

The moment broke when I landed in my coworkers arms, but that experience was just as beautiful. I no longer saw the faces of "coworkers" above me. I saw the faces of friends and family. I trusted them and they caught me.

The rest of the day found us flying on zip lines and falling from tight wires into nets. Sometimes it was an individual accomplishment, sometimes we needed each other to solve a puzzle and reach the other side. But nothing came close to that first moment. That moment of freedom.

If you ever have a chance to experience a ropes course, I encourage you to do it. Take your family, go with a church group, round up your 10 best friends... You will leave with a new confidence in yourself and new love for others.