Never have I been one to seek thrilling, adrenaline-spiking adventures.  Call me dull, but I have never been sky diving, dungeon dropping, hang gliding – or anything of the sort!  It just does not appeal to me to do anything for that heart-racing “rush.” Perhaps the reason for that is a simple explanation: fear. That term itself, however, is considerably more complex than you think.  It is the sole reason why we miss opportunities, have regrets, push ourselves too hard, refrain from being our true selves, and the list goes on and on.

Unfortunately, it is in all of us – preventing some of us from the truest sensations of happiness. What would happen if we relinquished it all for one day? What kind of world would we see? What would people do? Better yet, what would happen if we had no fear for ONE SECOND. Would you let it pass you by? Or, would you grasp it and hold onto it for dear life and ACT?

Friends, I did something insane yesterday. I went to Pedernales Falls State Park, expecting a good ole, easy hike down at the river with some friends.  The weather was sunny, hot, and dry – perfect for climbing into the caves. But, El Nino (our name for this crazy random rain pattern that has plagued Texas as of late) decided to give Fredericksburg some flash flooding, so the river was just closed upon our arrival. Luckily, we did not drive an hour to the park just to leave immediately.  The park allowed people to go to the various uphill hiking trails, where apparently there were springs, creeks and small waterfalls to see. A bit discouraged, we took to the trails.

About a mile into our uphill trek, we ran into a 65 foot drop off into a large spring. People were gathered around taking selfies and whatnot, crowding the outmost extruded rock. In the corner of my eye, I saw a man with his shirt off, brushing his fingers through his hair and taking deep inhalations through the nose with his eyes closed. “Strange,” I thought, and dismissed him. The small mass of people cleared and as we were about to make our way past, the shirtless, solemn man took a running start and jumped right off the cliff. I could not believe my eyes. I clapped my hands to my mouth, praying for him to reach the surface unscathed. Nonchalantly, he swam right over to the shallow side and just hopped right out.

I made my friends follow him to the bottom of the rocks. When we got there, he strode right by us without even the slightest change to his serious, formidable countenance. It was if he had just gotten out of bed. I was in awe of this man’s unfathomable capability and composure. Some kind of strange magic. Nevertheless, he had the right idea. We were all hot and sweaty from the beating sun, so I accepted the invitation to get right in that freezing spring. No one else was swimming in it, and I was not positive we were allowed to, but I did not care. Other hot hikers soon joined us, shrieking when they dove into the cold depths of this beautiful blue water.

We were all enjoying the sensations when a boy, whose name I learned was Samuel, went around to the other side of the cliff and climbed to the top. He performed the same spectacle as the previous man, except this cliff jump was seemingly only 45-50 feet. Still, a disconcerting height. Standing at the bottom, I remember thinking, “Ah, that jump does not look half bad from where I can see. Besides, that other guy did an even higher jump and he was fine! And not this boy just jumped a lower cliff with no problem – I can do it if he can!”

Defiant, I climbed to the top and, shoot, was I sorry I underestimated the height of that cliff. I should have known it always looks more daunting from the top.  I do not have a thing with heights at all, so believe me when I tell you that the drop was a DROP. Samuel was in the air for a solid 3 seconds.. can you imagine? The feeling of falling for 3 whole seconds? The way your stomach jumps into your mouth wanting to get out, ugh I can barely stand it in a dream! And my leg does me the wonderful favor of kicking me awake!

No. I told myself I was going to do it. Standing at the top of that cliff, I chose to honor my commitment and my word – to myself. The voices in my head were shouting at me, “YES, YOU CAN DO IT! WAIT.. NO, DON’T DO IT! YOU’LL DIE! YOU CAN’T DO IT!” Over and over and over in my mind. For 4 and a half minutes I battled and struggled, finally bringing me to the point of anger. And then, it dawned on me: my own thoughts were wrapping me in this suffocating, dismal blanket of irrational terror. But why? I knew I wanted to do this!

Theoretically, my thoughts create my feelings, right?  In other words, my feelings are the residual outcome of my thoughts. When I tell myself I “can’t” what am I really saying? What if right now, in this moment, I could tell myself a different story? One where, “I CAN.” One where, instead of falling, I am flying.  In this realization, I felt ONE SECOND of courage, all led by a single notion: I have always wanted to fly.

Without further thought and question, I lept. Leaving terror and reason to battle themselves, I went for it.  Screw it. I wanted to fly.

It was not until I saw these pictures that I realized how I had positioned my arms.  To be honest, I had no idea that these pictures were even being taken. It was not until I took my first breath of life that I heard a distant voice from above asking me what my email was. Ha, what an odd thing to hear from God after returning to earth, I thought. Low and behold, it was not God, but a photographer named Phoebe who was hiding out directly across the cliff with her Canon. She said, “I saw the whole thing,” with a smile, “let me email these to you!”

In retrospect, I am so proud of myself. I didn’t just jump off a 45 foot cliff into a freezing spring of water.  I overcame my crazy, loud, and tremendous fear. I can still hear those resonant voices in my head telling me, “you can’t.”

For those of you who are reading this, take away this one thing: you can, you should, and you will. Fear does not control you. Be yourself, do what you set your mind to, laugh when you want to, and fly when you’re afraid to. I’ll conclude with a quote I was just reminded of by Hunter Thompson. It reads:

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”

Now then, it’s your turn to get out there and do something amazing.

 

BACK TO THE FOOD

First of all, you should know how amazingly wonderful quinoa (keen-WAH) is for you. It is the healthiest grain in the world. The mother of all supergrains! It is one of my favorite things to eat as long as it is prepared well with yummy spices, so let’s break down the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 lb. of boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 TBS Tamari (gluten free soy sauce)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ginger
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup of quinoa
• 2 cups of chicken broth or water
• olive oil

Instructions

• In a small sauce pan, add the Quinoa  with 2 cups of water or broth (chicken adds more flavor). *Note: for every 1 cup of quinoa or rice, always add 2 cups of liquid.* Toss in some sprinkles of garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
• Turn the stove on medium high and bring quinoa to a boil. Once it starts boiling, immediately turn down heat to “simmer” and put the lid on top. Let it sit for 20 minutes, or until all the liquid is gone.
• Meanwhile, throw the chicken into a stove top pan over medium heat with olive oil.  Add all the spices, including the Tamari
• Stir the chicken every so often so that it is cooked all the way through.

I felt full for a good 2.5 hours after eating this. And for someone who eats “rabbit food” that notion is pretty damn special. I could have run a marathon on this meal! Okay..maybe not the entire marathon.. but probably half! Or.. a third.. You get my point, yeah? 😉