My younger brother, Mark, once proclaimed – as a child, mind you – “I’m invincible. There’s nothing you can do to hurt me.” and he went on to explain his statement; immune from insults, unafraid of death, and not worried about injury, he truly was/is invincible. Looking at his character, it’s hard to not be impressed at the man he has become, while also moving on to becoming the man never will measure up to be like.
But this isn’t about Mark. This is about an idea. This is about the idea of being fearless. Perhaps it’s because of many harsh situations that have forced me to eat gravel that I’ve gained an incredible resilience to uncomfortable situations (we really don’t know the meaning of hardship, nor will we ever so long as there are people starving overseas) that have taken me out of a comfortable state of existence.
Invincible. When you aren’t afraid of dying, there’s really not a whole lot that can terrify you. Sometimes it’s the things that put us on the edge of danger that really wake us up and make us feel alive. Skydiving was incredible. I’ll never forget the moment I stepped on the gas, taking my BMW to over 110mph up a steep bump in the road…and, for a moment, I was airborne. Glory, baby. Another time, I was driving with Mark who decided to take my car up to 135mph. After about 120mph, the road lines become a solid blur.
These things are the things that can often be very, very stupid decisions. However, they’re also the moments that make us feel alive and adventurous. That being said, there’s something to be said for the said moments in time where we do something bold, daring, and perhaps even a bit stupid.
My grandfather flew bomber planes during the war. He didn’t become a pilot by going to pilot school. Rather, he knew the working of a plane well enough to get the principles of flying. After being denied the ability to be a pilot for the umpth time, he decided enough was enough. He did something quite stupid; he took a bomber plane up the runway, completely unauthorized and to the utter horror of the top brass on base. Since he was up in the air, he certainly had to land the plane. Preparing for his landing, he intentionally overshot the landing strip so he would have to perfectly land, only to again take off and circle the base once again to hit the strip properly. He executed this move twelve times, each landing/takeoff performed perfectly.
Sure, he got yelled at…but he was given his wings after a good punishment.
Sometimes you’ve gotta steal the proverbial plane. Sometimes you have to take off and leave the onlookers on the ground, where they choose to stay. Will you crash on the ground? Probably not. And yet…you’ll never really soar.
Take a leap.
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