Take a Leap Through the Threshold.

Along with the grown man strapped to my back, I moved to the edge of the airplane’s door. My senses sharpened; my heart raced. The fabric of my pants whipped in the wind as I dangled my legs thirteen thousand feet above the canyonlands.

Nothing was between me and the ground except the crisp desert air. My body and mind were in a heightened state, fully alive, utterly aware of the profundity of the moment. The chute was packed, the straps were tight, the light was green. Can’t turn back now. Through the door and out into the unknown, we went.

I am not much of a thrill seeker or adrenaline junkie, especially when it comes to heights. I get weak-kneed standing on a step ladder. But, circumstances and experiences had brought me to this threshold. I was here, and now I had to go through. It was the next right step in my journey, and I had to trust that.

The skydive was an enactment- a ritual- of the metaphoric drama unfolding in my life. The plane was the physical symbol of the familiar and safe existence I knew. This leap was a ritual representation of my launch into a new way of being: an unfamiliar, uncomfortable new place with no certainty of outcome.

For well over a decade, I have done seasonal work. This way of living kept me moving around the country, going from place to place and job to job. It had become familiar. It was my identity, something I held onto and enjoyed. The problem was that this comfortable place had brought stagnation. I finally heard the whispers of those wiser aspects of my being that it was time to move on.

I was excited about the journey of starting my coaching business. I knew I was being called to a more meaningful existence, but I felt sadness and grief. In a sense, there had been a death. I was burying my old life there in the desert among the canyons, buttes, arches, hoodoos, arroyos, and sagebrush. Giving thanks to and honoring that old identity was part of the ritual.

These journeys, these leaps that we make in our lives, can bring up a lot of fear, self-doubt, or worry. Even when we know we must do something, change something, become something different; there can still be hesitation.

Refusing the call is part of the journey, but so is the challenge and opportunities and setbacks and growth and rewards we get when we finally answer the call.

That’s a beautiful part about being human. These leaps into the unknown are woven into the very fabric of our collective psyche. It’s why myths, fairytales, and sagas with these motifs have been told for millennia.

We all have something we know we must do. We all have those thresholds in our lives we must step through. These leaps are ours to make. We each have a unique purpose that only we can carry out.

Step through the threshold and pursue what you are called to do. Bring it into this world for all of us to experience.