Adventure #3 – The Flying Trapeze

Dreams…

As kids, we all had big dreams of doing amazing things.  Life knew no limits for us and we were convinced that we could do anything.  For me, one of these dreams was flying and tumbling through the air like a flying trapeze star!  I remember going to the circus with my parents and brother and being lost in thought as I watched the performers at Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus fly through the air.  I always wondered what if felt like and how they did it.  And what it would feel like if I did it too…  It took me nearly 25 years, but I did achieve my dream of “flying through the air with the greatest of ease…on a flying trapeze!”  And it was simply UNBELIEVABLE!

My third adventure took me to Bayfront Park in Miami where you can find The Flying Trapeze School of Miami towering high above the park.  It was a perfect South Florida evening.  A nice ocean breeze was coming through the park and the music from the nearby happy hours filled the air.  Upon arriving, we met our instructors, Mark and Lock, and filled out the necessary release and insurance forms.  Once the formalities were out of the way, they gave us the 4 most important rules to follow:

• Don’t walk under the net
• Don’t walk under the net (really important!)
• Listen
• Listen (since we don’t know what we’re doing…)

The rest of the instruction would be hands on and take place up in the air… No time for messing around.  They put safety harnesses on us and before I knew it, I was making my trek up the 35 foot ladder to the 18? wide launch platform where Lock was meeting me.   Thirty seconds later, I was leaning over the edge, adrenaline cranked up to 11 and with a quick “hup” cue, I was jumping off the platform!  I was flying.  And just like that, I had realized a life-long dream!

The rest of the two-hour class was spent progressively learning new tricks.  We hung upside down, we let go, we backflipped down to the net, we reached out with outstretched hands and we worked on getting faster and faster and higher and higher.  All this was in preparation for the “Grand Finale” which would have us leave the safety of our own bar, fly through the air and be caught by our instructor on the other end.

As I climbed up to the platform for the last time of the night, I reflected on what an amazing experience this had been and how 2017 is shaping up to be my best year yet.  And then I was off.  My timing was right on the money.  I hit all my marks, flipped upside down and let go of my bar.  As I reached my head back, there was Lock, reaching out for me and smiling, as if he was reaching out to shake my hands.  It was surreal.  It was happening in slow motion in my head.  SUCCESS!  He grabbed me, we swung back and forth and I landed safely on the net below to the crews’ and my family’s cheers and applause. The adventure was over, but it was one that I will NEVER forget!

At the end of the night I was exhausted but feeling refreshed.  In my mind I knew, more than ever, that if I set my mind to something, I can get it done.  And that’s exactly what this year and my life is all about.  Be BOLD and TAKE ACTIONS my friends.  I promise, your life will never be the same again.