In Crossing The Line.

the moment where your dripping toes are hanging over the rocky edge
dark water and swirling foam thirty feet below.
the deep breath and gumption that makes you lean forward
setting your foot into nothing,
one and then the other.

that is where it happens

where you earn your stripes.
where you learn a thing or two.
it isn't while your speeding through the thin air.
or when the water sucks you in with its icy grip
nor when coming up sputtering with the taste of adrenaline still on your lips.

the heavy was at the beginning.
standing on that line.
with your heart pounding loudly in your ears.
that aforementioned adrenaline coursing through your weak feeling veins.
you stand at a crossroads.
with shaking hands you contemplate sitting this one out.
you try and convince yourself that you won't really be missing anything.

that you don't need to prove yourself by doing this.
that life won't be much different if you pass just this once.

but you do.
and it will.

you do need to prove yourself.
to yourself.
if you pass just this once, you might just pass up the next
and the next.
the good stuff takes place when you muster up enough courage and cross into the scary
leaving the comfortable back on the other side.

may we keep jumping.
despite the risk.
in spite of the risk.
for the risk itself.

for what it teaches us.
about giving up and giving in.
of letting go.
taking a deep breath and throwing your unsteady body and caution to the wind.
here’s to hoping that its what we learn
while we stretch our toes over that line.
in that moment where we are test and tried.
may we not be found wanting.
instead may we find Goodness.
no matter the deathly chill of the water below.