Can You Skydive?

There is nothing quite like standing at the edge of an open airplane door at 15,000 feet waiting to jump. The moment of truth. When you’re feet leave the platform and you realize what you’ve done, it’s as close to Zen as you’ll ever experience. For the first time you experience yourself, outside of yourself. Your first chance to be conscious without being aware of your body around you.

I free-fell for an entire 60 seconds. My mind was clear … For the first time since I was probably a child. One pointed meditation. The rest of the world was just gone. Then the chute opens. Reality sets in. I guess our chute opens sometime during our teenage years. We realize that you’re not allowed to just free-fall through life. Being weightless is like having no responsibility, no ties, no commitments. Surely a life like that isn’t worth living. As I approached the ground I found myself not really wanting to. I wish I could free-fall forever.