It’s about a sport I’d never do, but it certainly caught my rapt attention—a man rollerblading down a mountainside road, not upright on his feet, but lying down on his stomach.
The courage of this man fascinated me. Like a speed train zipping ahead with little means to stop if necessary, this thrill seeker headed down the asphalt decline with determination to succeed, refusing to let fear hold him back. His choice sure looked dangerous to me, but he maneuvered skillfully and intelligently through every curve, around every oncoming car, and made his way safely to the bottom. He obviously had significant experience in this sport, and knew what he was doing. He was not afraid, which made him able to attain his desired goal.
I admired this pro because he conquered a new opportunity and gained an experience timid souls can only fantasize about. I’m still not convinced it’s the safest sport around, but I don’t have to make that judgment for him. He broke through a certain kind of resistance to new possibility, made his committed plunge headlong, and left his example to stretch the minds of others standing on the sidelines.
Hmmmm….I wonder what new similar metaphysical possibilities I could master likewise…?
“Had Blondin believed it impossible to walk the rope over Niagara's abyss of waters, he could never have done it. His belief that he could do it gave his thought-forces, called muscles, their flexibility and power which the unscientific might attribute to a lubricating oil. His fear must have disappeared before his power of putting resolve into action could appear.” Mary Baker Eddy
4 comments:
Oh, I think I am going to build me a suit like that!! How fab and what fun. And what boundaries are we pushing through... thought is where it starts.
Well, not to be a spoil-sport, or whatever they call it, but, the questions came up for me about the other people on the road. At first I thought this was some clear path that had been blocked off. Then I see there are other people. As you suggest, Evan, he has little means of stopping. I wonder what he looks like from a car coming in the other direction, flat on the ground like that? Some strange object spinning out of control (he veers over into the other lane a lot), causing that driver to swerve, brake suddenly? The camera didn't really catch how the bikers in front were passed. All that very tricky. So, that, she-who-is-admittedly-afraid-of-heights, salutes testing boundaries, pushing back material limits, but I guess I have to also ask myself, why? What am I hoping to accomplish. Is it just thrills for thrills sake? And wonder if I shouldn't always keep blessing as one of my objectives for action, making sure not to put others in harms way.
Sancy
Hi Sancy,
Yes, I wondered about the same questions, but I decided I didn't have to figure all that out in order to glean an inspiration that I can still use. I look for the good and go with that. I don't know the details of the video and the background. For all I know, and would expect, someone was at the bottom of the hill guarding against cars coming up and being caught by surprise. I'd think the planners had that part figured out ahead of time. Seems wise to me...the rest was for show, I expect.
Let's assume you're right!
Sancy
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