Leap of Faith

There I stood knowing what was in front of me, what to expect in just a few minutes time. Waiting was going to take a while with no certainty on when the journey would begin, and when it finally did the climb would seem like forever, but the view would be amazing. Looking around everyone else seemed either nervous, anxious, or even frightened. However I remained calm, almost completely unfazed as if this was just another day, business as usual.

When the time finally came, we all waved good bye and started to climb the ladder to get on board, I was the second in the group to get on. We started moving while the door was still open, but only for a moments time and then it was shut. Just a few seconds later and the ascent began, up slowly upward we climbed. Looking out the window I couldn't help but thinking how magnificent everything outside looked, and the further away we got the more majestic it looked.

Several minutes later we reached the plateau just a mere two miles up, the door was opened, and with a leap of faith two went out, a moment later two more, one more moment and then it was my turn. I took a big deep breath and held it right when jumping out and immediately doing a back flip afterwards. At this time I looked down and saw there was nothing but air between the earth and me. As I plummeted downward I felt completely weightless and free, time slowed down, the wind was blowing pretty fast, and the ground didn't really seem to be moving any closer. If anyone ever felt like they were flying as a bird would soar through the sky, then this is how they would have felt at that exact moment.

Almost as quickly as the descent began, it slowed back down again, with a lot of pressure applied to the straps hoisting me up. It was at this time the earth started to appear as if it were coming closer. With every turn more pressure would be applied momentarily reminding me that I am both alive, and tremendously glad the harness was fit properly. After a few minutes of coasting downward, all the while everything kept getting larger and undoubtedly closer, the ground came to my feet and I slid in to where I was firmly planted on the earth once again. Looking around everyone seemed both excited and relieved, that we were all alive and unscathed.