Taking that leap of faith.

There comes a time is everyone's life when you are going to have to decide do I take that leap of faith, or forever be trapped in the situation that you may find yourself in.  Now for some people they have been making these leaps their entire life, so there isn't much that scares them at this point.  To others, and by others I mean those who have never even looked over the cliff, gotten close to it, or even wanted to entertain the possibility of what would happen if they jumped, to those I say maybe it's time to change your perspective.

Certainly going off a cliff on a leap of faith has certain elements of fear and trepidation at first, but it's like the roller coaster: scares the ever living daylights out of you, but as soon as you get done with the ride, you're ready to go on it again.  Believe you me, I know what it's like to allow fear to stop you in your tracks.  The fear of failure or looking stupid in front of those who would like nothing more then for you to fail, is almost paralyzing.  But it's this fear that has to be put down, and the courage that is in you, that has always been in you, will come forth like a roaring lion, just waiting to jump.

Let me ask you this question:  if you don't take the leap of faith, what happens?  I mean, do you think that your dreams or your hopes are simply going to manifest out of the blue?  Certainly there is the possibility that it might happen that way, but I think you have a greater chance of pigs flying out your "arse" then things just happening perfectly without even as much as a little effort on your part.  I do not discount the miraculous in this world.  I think miracles happen each and every day, but what I'm talking about is the effort that we have to put forth in order to obtain those things we want most in life.  I've always said that if it's worth having, it's worth working for.

Taking a leap of faith is standing firm in what you believe, holding fast to what you hold most dear, and not allowing your dreams to be ripped away from you by the careless words of others who haven't a clue as to what is really important and what is not.  Taking a leap of faith is saying that you don't care if it doesn't work right the first time, there's always the second or maybe even the third attempt at it.  Taking that leap of faith is simply saying no to fear and knowing that no matter where things end up it's always going to be better then where they are right now.

When I set out to write my first book I didn't have a clue as to what I was getting myself into.  I knew I had a story in me, but getting it out on paper was something that I never thought possible.  I held the smallest of belief that I was doing what I was supposed to do, but I surely was not confident at the beginning.  Taking a leap of faith is not waiting until you have all the answers.  It's not waiting for everything to be perfect with not even a remote possibility of things going wrong.  Taking the leap of faith is saying that no matter what happens you are heading out on your journey and if things need to change midstream then change they will.

When you are looking out over that cliff all you see is what lies ahead of you, and nothing that is below.  It seems as though the things that are below are the things that worry us the most, those things that are unknown, or in this case, unseen.  When you base any decision on the "unseen" things in life you are making a huge mistake.  Often the things that are unseen never make themselves known, so you are actually stopping yourself from moving forward based on things that really are not real in the first place.  Just as an example take a look at free jumpers.  When they are getting ready to thrust themselves off the mountain all they see is the sky in front of them.  Imagine standing back, running, and then jumping off the cliff.  Certainly you begin to fall, but then the chute opens up, you begin to move with the drafts, and all that is below you turns into this beautiful landscape as you gracefully hover above it all.  Had you never made the jump then you would have missed an opportunity to view the beauty below you from a totally different perspective.

We have allowed our own fears to stop us before we ever begin.  We have allowed the unseen, the unknown, to stop us in our tracks instead of just jumping off the cliff and letting the destiny that resides inside of you to take you on the journey of a lifetime.  We can sit around and wait for the perfect time to strike out on our own, but how long will the wait be, and while you are waiting for that perfect time, what will you be missing?  I dare say that anyone who has accomplished something great in this life has had to make the decision to thrust themselves off the cliff, not knowing what is below them, but knowing that they will certainly come out of it alive and filled with a new enthusiasm for the things they want to accomplish in this life.

The time has come to make a decision.  You can sit around and wait for the perfect time, or you can pack up your chute, take a few steps back, and then launch yourself off that cliff into an adventure of a lifetime.  Yes it may be fearful at first, but fear does not control you for fear is not based on anything real, and your destiny is as real as it gets.

Take a leap of faith will you.  Know that good things await you if you will only put yourself out there and take what is yours.  The journey of life is indeed a journey of discovery, and once you discover what life has to offer you then I dare say that there will never be a cliff out there that will cause you any more fear.  It is time to jump, and when you do enjoy the ride that will follow.